This Little League Sign Is Genius And Necessary

Little League sign reminds parents to behave like civilized human beings at baseball games

A Little League sign is reminding parents to keep their cool when they’re at the baseball field, because, after all, it is just a game. And they are just little kids.

They’ve practiced for weeks while you made sure their uniform and equipment was just right. A lot of prep from parents and kids goes into organized sports but after the umpire’s final call it doesn’t really matter which kids won or lost. They’re just supposed to be having fun and learning how to play. The genius sign is reminding parents of that because nothing ruins a game for a kid like watching their dad sucker punch the other team’s coach.

A picture of the sign was posted to Reddit earlier this week with the comment, “This sign should be at every Little League field.” Really? We need to spend money prominently displaying a reminder to grown adults that basically says, “you’re here to watch your child play a game not behave like a maniac.” Yes, the signs are definitely needed. Most of the commenters on the Reddit post agreed, and anyone who’s been to a Little League game that got heated will tell you that the signs are essential.

YouTube is filled with adults fighting during or after Little League games. Watch 30 seconds of one and you’ll plaster a baseball field with similar warnings to parents to avoid your kids seeing that type of unnecessary violence. Just one example of this nonsense happened last September when an off-duty Mississippi Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested on simple assault charges after getting into a fight at a Little League game with another man. The deputy wasn’t happy with how the other team was playing and supposedly forfeited the game instead of finishing it, WTVA reported. The brawl broke out when the teams were shaking hands at the end of the game. How nice.

The entire point of having kids shake hands is to teach them good sportsmanship, which is a sports term for “don’t be a dick.” Little League games give kids a place to have fun while also teaching them how to be gracious when they lose. The parents and coaches should be the first example of that sportsman-like behavior. It’s just a game and they’re just kids trying to enjoy themselves. Let’s not ruin it for them.