Ballparks National Releases Statement Regarding Umpire Arrest

Ballparks National has released an official incident statement following this weekend’s altercation between an umpire and a Camden County Sheriff’s deputy.

The incident happened after the sheriff’s office received a preliminary report that the umpire had pushed a player’s parent.

When confronted by the deputy, 56-year-old Neal Sidebottom, of Versailles, refused to identify himself and then engaged in the physical confrontation with the deputy which was eventually broken up by several spectators.

Ballparks National says it’s the first incident of that kind in over four-thousand games played at the complex and it will not be tolerated.

The umpire, Sidebottom, will no longer have any association with Ballparks National and has been banned from the complex.

To see more about the initial report click here: KRMS news report on umpire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Saturday, May 13th, there was an unprecedent incident at the facility involving a third-party contractor and a Camden County Sheriff’s deputy. We applaud the fine work of the Camden County Sheriff’s department in this matter and their thoroughness of handling the situation.

This was the first incident of this kind at Ballparks National in over 4,000 games played at the complex. These types of incidents or behavior of this nature will not be tolerated, and this individual will no longer have any association with Ballparks National, nor will be allowed on the facility grounds.

We pride ourselves on the experience our guests have at our facility. We in no way condone any of the actions that took place and it’s terribly unfortunate that the incident negatively impacted the experience of our customers.

We do not stand for this behavior at a family run facility, and we strive to encourage sportsmanship to parents, coaches, players, and officials. We always strive to make the experience here at the facility safe and positive for all our guests, participants, and umpires.

Currently, we have no further comment on the incident while the investigation by local officials is ongoing.