Yes, These People Exist

Back in May/June in the state of Texas, a youth coach was fired for being caught on video instructing his kids to intentionally hit the umpire with a pitch.

It gets worse...

This coach had already been banned and shouldn't have even been near these kids or this field.

Jeremy Knox is the coach in question.  He has a history that mirrors these types of incidents.  In fact, according to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as a scout for the San Diego Padres at one point.  I can only imagine they fired him when they realized who he was or what he was doing.

The articles that discuss this incident do enough of a job shaming Knox and calling him out for such behavior, so to dig deep into the obvious poor sportsmanship is almost redundant.  But there is one thing we should examine.

How did this get out?

Interestingly enough, a player on Knox's team caught the whole conversation where Knox told his kids to hit the umpire on his cell phone, and the kid proceeded to post it to Snapchat so the coach of the opposing team could see it.  He even included a note to the coach to explain what he was watching and hearing.  The coach then posted it to Facebook to make sure it got out.

Kudos to the kid for getting the word out.  That kid is wise beyond his years.  He deserves a medal.