What Should Happen to Baseball Brawlers? (Video)

Update:

The San Juan Unified School District made the following official statement regarding the incident:

"We expect sportsmanlike conduct from our teams at all times, physical violence is never acceptable. We will be doing a full investigation based on the video and interviews with those involved. Anyone found to have exited the dugout or thrown any punches will face disciplinary actions which may include suspension from one or more games in accordance with district and CIF league rules."

Original story:

It was an ugly brawl by most people's standards. The junior varsity players cleared benches from and Yuba City high schools' sides during a Monday afternoon Easter Tournament exhibition game.

A Del Campo fan filmed and uploaded the ensuing brawl to YouTube, which quickly went viral. The fight began during the sixth inning of a tied game. The video reveals Yuba City players running toward the pitcher's mound following a fastball pitched at a Del Campo coach standing by first base.

"Seeing what transpired Monday, there had to be a lot of chipping going on before the fight," said Pete Saco, the California Interscholastic Federation's Sac-Joaquin section commissioner.

Saco explained he had been in touch with both schools' administrators and he believes disciplinary action is a foregone conclusion.

Though Saco didn't see the ball get thrown at the first base coach, he said Yuba City administrators will be taking responsibility for which could mean suspensions, possible expulsions.

"I will be stunned if Yuba City administrators don't do something about this," Saco said.

Saco said the CIF would allow the schools to take responsibility for how players would be disciplined.

Officials from both schools are keeping fairly tight-lipped about the fight and were unavailable for comment at the time of this report.

Saco acknowledged that Yuba City's team would not be participating in anymore games for the rest of the week. As many as six players face suspension and some could face expulsion.

Del Campo's athletic director Gary Summerhays had only a few things to say about the incident, explaining the video should speak for itself. Though Summerhays doesn't believe his school's team was responsible for instigating the fight, he does believe the school's principal, Vera Vaccaro will be issuing disciplinary recourse. Vaccaro was not available for comment.

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Here are what other publications are saying about the fight:

• ADVarsitySports - Yuba City High JV baseball involved in brawl
• Forbes - California High Schools Invesitgate What Led to Baseball Brawl
• Deadspin.com - An Ugly Baseball Brawl in Which Nobody Looks Good
• The Sacramento Bee - Brawl halts junior varsity game between Yuba City and Del Campo caught on tape; suspensions forthcoming