Parent of suspended Tennessee Vols player hits the nail on the head regarding double standard after Arkansas player's terrible on-field behavior
Chris Peebles would like an answer after Arkansas' 4-3 win over the Tennessee Vols on Saturday in the first game of the Fayetteville Super Regional. Many other Volunteer fans would like one as well. Particularly, many would like to know why the umpires allowed Razorback starting pitcher Zach Root – who was terrific to his […]
Chris Peebles would like an answer after Arkansas' 4-3 win over the Tennessee Vols on Saturday in the first game of the Fayetteville Super Regional. Many other Volunteer fans would like one as well.
Particularly, many would like to know why the umpires allowed Razorback starting pitcher Zach Root – who was terrific to his credit – to go on an unhinged tirade of screaming profanities at Tennessee first baseman Andrew Fischer during the contest without punishment or even admonishment.
Root twice screamed at Fischer – once in the fourth inning after striking him out, and again in the sixth inning after getting him to ground into an inning-ending double play. The second time resulted in him having to get pulled off the field by his teammates.
The result? No punishment AND a warning to both sides from the umpires despite Tennessee not having done anything similarly in the game, which left Tony Vitello baffled.
Naturally, that's led some to scoff at the umpires' lack of action there but swift and heavy-handed action for Vols catcher Cannon Peebles, who was ejected in the eighth inning of Monday's 11-5 regional-clinching win over Wake Forest. Peebles barked something back at Wake's catcher, and that one second bark was enough to not just get kicked out the rest of the game but also be suspended for the game on Monday under current NCAA rules.
Honestly, which one was worse here? And that's exactly what Peebles' father, Chris, asked on Twitter/X during the game.
He's absolutely right. As far as the nature and length of the two engagements, Root's was far, far more egregious by yelling "f*#k you" repeatedly and aggressively at an opposing player while walking off the field to the extent of having to get pulled off the field out of concern by his teammates. But because the umpire didn't toss him – or even take any action to acknowledge the lack of sportsmanship – he was allowed to continue.
There is a big difference between being fired up and being a bad sport. Pumping up your fans after a big play or even celebrating brazenly with your teammates is fine for the sport. Emotion is a good thing for baseball, in my opinion. However, turning to your opponent, pointing and repeatedly screaming "f*%k you" at the top of your lungs is an entirely different thing.
And for the latter there needs to be a change. Some kind of bright line that players can know not to cross. Harassing a player with repeated f words should be clearly across that line. But it wasn't. And so Root will get to continue to watch the series in the dugout with his teammates, perhaps even continuing to show a lack of restraint or sportsmanship he unfortunately doesn't appear to possess. Meanwhile, Peebles got to experience it all from the locker room.
If college baseball wants a change, it's time they start enforcing punishments more uniformly and harshly than they have been to curb this kind of behavior.
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