Monee, Ill. (WGN) -- A youth baseball umpire claims the mayor of an Illinois village assaulted him during a game – but the mayor says it was in self-defense.
The umpire, 56-year-old Tim Nelson, told WGN the mayor broke his jaw in two places, requiring surgery.
Monee, Illinois, Mayor Jay Farquhar got into the alleged altercation with the umpire Saturday morning at a baseball field at a local school. An official from the Monee Baseball and Softball League told WGN the alleged incident happened over a foul ball dispute in the second inning during which Farquhar punched the ump. Nelson claims Farquhar also called him a drunk.
Farquhar was managing a youth team on which his son plays. The players are as young as 7 years old.
After hearing from witnesses, a league official ruled to suspend Farquhar from managing for a year and ban him from attending games.
Village Manager Reuben Bautista said Monee police have referred the matter to the Will County Sheriff's Department for further investigation.
Mayor Farquhar wrote on Facebook that he acted in self-defense after the ump grabbed his arm:
"...[T]here is no excuse for striking an official...in retrospect, it was a reaction which lacked comprehensively best judgement for the coach (me) to defend myself against the physical escalation of the umpire as such I willingly left the field and recognize the need to suspend my helping to coach that team the rest of this season."
Tim Nelson is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday, and, as part of the recovery, he expects his jaw will have to be wired for the next four weeks.
