Youth sports hostility rises in Warren County

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – It’s one of the most fun parts of summer for kids: playing youth sports. But recently, parents have found a way to make it somewhat dangerous.

“Last weekend, we did have an incident at Michael O. Buchanon Gym. The incident was responded to by local law enforcement. The outcome of that was unfortunate. We ended up having to cancel a tournament just because of the nature of what happened that did involve a weapon. We just don’t have any tolerance for that,” Chris Kummer, director of Warren County Parks & Recreation, says.

That’s why they have a plan in place to prevent future scenarios like this from happening again.

“The episode back in January where we had a firearm incident and the issue from this past weekend, and then a series of different incidences that we’ve had over the past 12 months; parent behavior, coaching behavior and spectator behavior is really a concern for us in regards to being able to provide safe, playable spaces for kids and families. That’s our number one priority is to be able to provide safe venues for people to come and play,” Kummer says.

One of the most important things you can do while at a game is to make sure you’re following the park’s policies.

“We have people that come into the parks and reckless drive. We have people that come into the facilities and want to fight during our youth sports games and activities. That is not the place to do it. What I always tell people is if you can not control your emotions for that hour and a half or that tournament Saturday or that special event Saturday, you need to find another place to go,” Kummer says.