He Writes to Differ in Ump-Hitting Case
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An Orange County man who pleaded no contest to slugging a teen-age umpire at a Little League game still insists that the ump was partially at fault.
“This incident need not happen again if we as spectators can be ensured that the umpires calling our games are adults, not children,” Robert Foster, 40, wrote in a 1,000-word essay on “proper behavior at a sporting event” that was part of his sentence. Foster was also ordered to pay an $850 fine and perform 80 hours of community service.
On June 16, 1986, Foster marched onto a baseball field in Huntington Beach and slugged C.J. Ellison, 16, a Seaview Little League umpire who had made two calls against the team on which Foster’s 15-year-old son played.
West Orange County Municipal Judge Michael Beecher is on vacation and could not be reached to say whether the essay was acceptable.
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