The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team lived up to its nickname over the weekend.
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During the seventh inning of Louisiana's 7-4 loss to Vanderbilt on Friday, Ragin' Cajuns first-year pitching coach Gunner Leger went viral for seizing his pitcher's jersey as he walked into the dugout — a move that was caught on video.
Coaches: don’t do this.
— Prospect Dugout (@prospectdugout) March 2, 2024
The pitcher, Jack Martinez, was visibly frustrated after being pulled from the game, in which he gave up three earned runs in one inning of work (which ultimately earned him the loss).
As Martinez — a junior who is playing in his first season at Louisiana after transferring from Division III Trinity University — entered the dugout, he appeared to ask Leger, "What the f—- are we doing?" twice before Leger grabbed his jersey and seemingly tried to yank him deeper into the dugout.
Leger and Martinez continued to exchange words for a few seconds before Ragin' Cajuns head coach Matt Deggs stepped between the two, started screaming at Martinez and then appeared to kick him out of the dugout.
While it was obviously poor form for Martinez to show up his coaching staff, there's zero excuse for a coach to put his hands on a player, regardless of the situation.
Leger seemed to realize that he screwed up once he let go of Martinez and gave a bashful look to his head coach as Deggs took over the situation.
While a few people on social media tried to defend Leger's actions, the general consensus was that he crossed the line by touching Martinez. The most popular response to the video is a reply by X user Sean Murphy, who wrote, "Don't. Put. Your. Hands. On. Players. Ever."
Don’t. Put. Your. Hands. On. Players. Ever.
— Nathinel Rabinowitz Testaverde (@sean0murphy) March 2, 2024
Since Louisiana hasn't offered any official statement on the altercation, it remains to be seen whether there will be any repercussions for Leger's actions. As for Martinez, he pitched again Sunday against Houston and gave up another three runs while getting just one out in relief.
It was a busy weekend for the Ragin Cajuns' sports teams, as their softball squad made headlines by snapping Oklahoma's 71-game winning streak on Sunday.
Apparently, Louisiana's baseball and softball teams are headed in very different directions.
