Two Texas A&M fans were ejected from a College World Series game after apparently taunting Florida’s baseball coach about his peripheral ties to a sinister double murder and suicide three years ago, the police Monday.
The ugly incident occurred Saturday night during the first inning of the rain-delayed Aggies-Gators game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
A close play at third base unfolded against Florida, and the ESPN cameras were focused on the Gators dugout to see if Florida would challenge the umpire’s call.
But what they captured were two men, dressed in A&M gear, leaning against the Florida dugout and yelling at Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan before stadium security pulled them away .
“These people have been banned from the stadium, so they won’t be attending any more games,” Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci told NBC News on Monday.
Unidentified fans will be persona non grata for the remainder of the tournament, although their future participation in the CWS will be decided by stadium management, local law enforcement and the NCAA, a stadium official said.
“We’re in discussions about it, but the last we heard, this (stadium ban) will probably last a year,” said Kristyna Engdahl, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority, which manages the stadium.
The union representing Omaha police officers denounced the incident and urged tournament organizers to make sure A&M fans never attend another CWS game.
“Helling an opposing baseball team over the tragic death of their batboy is completely unacceptable,” the union said. “I’m glad our officers and security removed this duo from Charles Schwab Field.”
In early May 2021, medical sales manager Paul Otto Reinhart, 46, killed himself and his two young sons after recently separating from his wife of nearly 20 years, Minde Reinhart.
O’Sullivan was a family friend of Reinhart’s, and one of the boys killed was a Gators batboy.
The boys’ mother married O’Sullivan and set up a foundation named after the victims.
Eric Sorenson, writer who follows college baseball, said the two A&M fans were “saying he killed someone” and that he should be “ashamed” of himself before stadium security intervened.
BREAKING: Two goons from A&M just came down on the Florida bench yelling at Coach O’Sullivan and telling him he killed someone and to be ashamed. The alligator staff assistants started throwing F-bombs at them and went running towards them, but the cops had already subdued them. pic.twitter.com/VnU8EHpV9q
– Eric Sorenson (@Stitch_Head) June 16, 2024
Engdahl, the stadium management spokesman, called the scene in the dugout Saturday night an “unfortunate” incident of “disruptive behavior and abusive language.”
“And that certainly falls into the realm of removing the ballpark,” she added.
After the game, which A&M won 3-2, Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle said he didn’t want to see those two fans in future games.
“I want to apologize on behalf of Texas A&M for everything that happened out there in that dugout,” Schlossnagle said. “Whoever these two guys are, they don’t represent what Texas A&M is, and whoever they are, don’t come back. Let’s not let these two guys back in the stadium.
Florida avoided elimination by beating North Carolina State, 5-4, Monday afternoon. The Gators next play Tuesday night against Kentucky in another playoff game.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
