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Huckaby witnessed the confrontation and expressed his feelings in the letter. The E-J editor deleted some of the comments but his letter still hit the nail on the head.
Admission is free to the league games but a sign at the entrance warns people not to bring food or drinks into the facility. Certainly, the park wants to realize a profit at the concession stand.
Huckaby, a Brookhaven resident who has a son in the league, said he understood that the security guard was trying to do his job but it was handled in the wrong way. When parents began voicing their displeasure, the park guard summoned the police.
They gave one angry mother a police complaint (telephone number) line.
For a time, the confiscation of drinks and food resembled a drug raid. "You've got to be kidding," was the general response.
Obviously, players and coaches require an ample supply of cold water and sports drinks in a cooler. A large ice chest is standard equipment for most summer league teams. It is kept in the corner of a dugout and players freely partake of the liquids.
By contrast, fans could be stopped at the gate, and politely asked to discard their drinks and food.
An elderly grandmother, estimated in her early 80s, was caught sipping a Dr. Pepper, trying to quench her thirst in the late afternoon heat. She was ordered to give up her canned drink.
"They took (potato) chips from kids and threw them in the trash. It was horrible," said one witness.
There was a toddler with a ring pop. For the unknowing reader, a ring pop is similar to a pacifier but it has a hard candy bulb on the end.
They told the mother, her child couldn't have it. Why? Because they didn't sell them in the concession stand.
If you ever have tried to tell a mother that her child is doing wrong, it's as dangerous as slapping a rattlesnake on the head or kicking a large bear in the belly. For sure, it created an angry response.
Besides, the child cried.
Fortunately, no infants were attending the game. Their formula or baby food could have been confiscated.
Luckily, none of the fans were on oxygen. Otherwise, their tanks might have been ripped away and trashed.
A pretty teenage girl confessed, "When I saw that policeman coming around, I put my Sugar Daddy (on a stick) in my purse so they wouldn't take it."
The search and seizure agenda was crude at best. What caused a major problem was the deputy who went in the dugouts and started going through bat bags. Violators were not shot. There were no visible red swastika armbands.
"The plate umpire told (deputy) not to step in any of his dugouts during the game. They interrupted the game five times," said another witness
According to Lincoln County resident Celeste Case, the concession stand didn't sell bottled Gatorade or water. "The biggest catch-22 was that you couldn't buy Gatorade in a bottle. They were selling it in a cup. Mostly, it was a cup full of ice."
Tolerance and a sense of humor are most valuable in duress.
"The whole thing was kind of funny," said Case, mother of a Basin Drilling player. "It was not funny if your were a parent or a player."
Obviously, some pregame announcement over the loudspeakers would have been appropriate.
"They should have made an announcement, a warning, before they took action," said Case. "Last year we could bring a cooler in."
The Babe Ruth League official apologized for the harassment. Changes have been made. There's a happy ending out there, somewhere.
Meanwhile, back in Lincoln County, local hospitality is at a much higher level. Although the Lincoln County Dixie Youth Baseball League directors would prefer that fans purchase drinks and food at their concession stands, they do allow outside sources of nourishment and refreshment.
Lincoln County commissioner Weldon Smith said the league tolerates the consumption of non-concession stand food at Keystone Park and at Exchange Club Park. His main concern is that people put their food containers, empty drink cans/bottles and wrappers in the proper waste receptacles. In other words, please don't litter the premises.
"We've never had any problem with (food)," said Smith. "We even had one (parent) who had pizza delivered the other night.
"It's rough when you have to pay somebody to clean up the mess," said Smith. Several trash cans are located at the respective fields.
The Brookhaven Department of Parks and Recreation also has a set of rules to follow regarding the consumption of outside food and drinks at the Hansel King Sportsplex. However, the BRD has a high tolerance level.
Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O. BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mail sports@dailyleader.com
