OPINION: Brawl involving Yuba City baseball players upsetting

In case you haven't heard, there was a brawl on Monday.

It's a mess, and it's all over the national news.

I'm not going to re-paint all the details of the video. If you haven't seen it, you're probably not reading this either. I've seen it enough times, and now it just makes me upset, and if you're not, there's something wrong.

Here's a question: If you are disturbed by the video, are you for the right reasons?

You see, this fight or brawl didn't occur between two major league, minor league or college teams. It didn't even happen at the varsity level, where you stop referring to the players as "kids." Nope, Yuba City High's junior varsity baseball team charged across the field, and several players took their turns throwing haymakers at Del Campo players. Many of whom took defensive positions.

These are basically 15-year-old kids, and that's why this is more important than your average MLB brawl or even extremely rare varsity brawl.

If these kids are going to react in that manner to a coach heckling — even if reports are true that it was done to an extremely inappropriate level — how will they behave in 10 years? In public?

The worst part about this entire episode isn't that Yuba City's baseball reputation has been tarnished, or that it paints the school and community in a negative light, or even that the umpires appeared to fail at their job by not policing the game.

The most upsetting part: These kids are "cool" by their peers.

The comments by the students: "I have so much respect for you now," "Dude, you whooped (expletive)," "NorCal represent."

Need I say more?

The Facebook comments are immature at best, but more saddening is that they're enabling.

Which brings me to this: The fact is this incident is also a parenting issue, and the video reveals as much.

Yes, I know, it's always the parents' fault.

Look, it's sports, things are bound to get heated, especially in the sixth inning of a "jawing" game with the score tied. I also know, as a parent, we are going to be protective of our son or daughter, regardless if emotions get the best of us.

But it's our job as parents to be even more of an example in these situations — easy to say, tough to do.

Um, try these old sayings:

• Treat others how you wish to be treated.

• You can't control others, only yourself.

• Turn the other cheek.

• Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words ...

• So if your friend jumps off a bridge, would you do it too?

And please don't say, "Boys will be boys."

You know, I used to roll around in the dirt, wrestle, fight — but not wearing a jersey or uniform — not while I was representing my school or with that many adults around, or with the possibility of letting down so many around me.

Catch my drift?

You must value that jersey, value the game, value your opportunity to play, value your coach, your parents, and hold them in high-esteem. There are many people watching, and now more than ever.

Here's a great example of a parent: One Facebook commenter uses phrases like, "Our boys" have the "upper hand in fighting" ... "Not our fault."

This is crap.

My response: Society is better without your comments.

When "mom" took the field noticeably upset and went on an explicit raging rant, it said this: Handle your problems with violent language and even action. It exposed some serious weaknesses, and gave the OK for her son to behave any way he "felt" was right.

Where's the cooler heads prevailing? Where's the adults?

They weren't in that video.

And look, the blame lands on both sides. If an adult has an itch to get under the skin of a 15-year-old to the point where the kid feels the need to throw a ball at him, he shouldn't be coaching, he doesn't belong on the field.

No one should be laughing, smiling, giggling or chuckling after this entire display.

From emotional outrage and anger issues, the entire incident was chaos. And it illustrates the negatives of human nature.

And trust me, there are claims from mountain top to mountain top regarding all sorts of side incidents that were supposedly not in the video, but I can't address those.

What I can say is something we can all agree on — a lesson needs to be learned.

With all the crap on TV, the web, the lack of discipline in the home and freedom to get our hands dirty in nearly every avenue these days, we may want to re-think where we're headed.

Standards, boundaries and guidelines certainly don't hurt society.

I'm definitely not a perfect parent, no one is and there's no guidebook on it, but we should never stop trying.

I just hope these kids one day look back at this time in their life and say something we've all said before, "Man, I was dumb."

CONTACT Bryan DeMain at bdemain@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4789. Find him on Facebook at advarsitysports or on Twitter at @ADbdemain.