Two assistant coaches with a suburban Chicago youth baseball team have been fired after a video surfaced showing them streaking nude across the diamond during a tournament in New York.
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(via CBS News/Screenshot)
The incident took place at Cooperstown All Star Village in Oneonta, where the Lake Bluff Youth Baseball Association's 12-and-under Blue team was competing. The now-viral video shows two men, fully unclothed, running across the diamond with one of them sliding headfirst into home plate. Children can be heard laughing in the background.
It was not a drill. And it wasn't a prank pulled after hours. According to the league and law enforcement, it all happened in front of kids.
The fallout was swift. The team was disqualified from the tournament and local deputies were called to the field after security personnel reportedly asked the men to leave. They refused, but were gone by the time officers arrived.
Deputies later obtained the video and attempted to conduct interviews, but the team had already returned to Illinois.
In a statement, the Lake Bluff Youth Baseball Association said it was "deeply distressed" to learn of the situation involving its 12U Blue team.
"We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and have contacted relevant authorities," the league said. "We will continue to support those authorities in their investigations of this matter. We have also taken immediate and decisive action by terminating the assistant coaches involved."
The Otsego County Sheriff's Office said the case was reviewed by the local district attorney's office, which ultimately declined to file charges due to the level of criminality and the fact that all parties live out of state.
It is not clear whether the two assistant coaches are parents of players. The league has not commented on whether they were allowed to travel back with the team.
Lake Bluff Youth Baseball, which has been around for 70 years, said it remains committed to protecting the well-being of its players and families.
Many parents affiliated with the team have chosen not to speak publicly. CBS News Chicago and other outlets have opted not to name the coaches involved, since they have not been charged with a crime.
