A youth baseball umpire was attacked on the field during a game over the weekend and was forced to go to the hospital ... after he says a coach disagreed with some of his calls.
Sam Phelps was behind home plate for a boys baseball game on Saturday in The Colony, Texas ... when he claims a few of his out/safe, balls/strikes decisions pissed off a coach on the field.
Phelps explained the situation to FOX4, saying it all came to a boiling point in the third inning ... seconds after he called a kid safe at home.
Last night, we spoke to an umpire from Denton, TX who said he’s pressing charges against a boy’s baseball coach after he was assaulted on Saturday.
— Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) April 12, 2022
This morning, @FOX4 obtained video of the incident.
The umpire was released from the hospital and is at home recovering.@FOX4 pic.twitter.com/fUN5cAjE0q
Phelps says the coach walked out of the dugout, mocked him and then shoved him to the ground after Phelps ejected him.
Video from the diamond shows the coach put his hands near the umpire's face, pushed him hard -- and caused the man to hit the dirt with force.
Phelps says he went to a nearby medical facility in an ambulance and was checked for head injuries, before he was ultimately released later in the evening.
Phelps said he's now looking to press charges against the coach -- explaining he believes punishment is necessary in order to protect everyone involved at games going forward.
"I don't want to destroy anyone's life," Phelps said. "But, I would like this to be a learning opportunity to get this out there."
We reached out to The Colony Police Dept. ... and a spokesperson told us officers did respond to the scene and did take a report. The spokesperson added an investigation is underway.
As for the coach's future at the baseball park, the org. that hosted the game Saturday told FOX4 it's banned the man and his team from all future events.
Of course, this is not the first time we've seen a youth ref attacked this month -- just days ago, a youth basketball official in Georgia was attacked by players and coaches following a game as well.