A Kentucky father went to a high school baseball game in 2023 to watch his younger son play against a team coached by his older son. By the time it was over, sheriff’s deputies had escorted him out, three family members were facing criminal charges, and he was banned from attending more games.
Now, more than three years later, he’s still fighting about it in court.
John Carroll was attending a baseball game between Shelby County High School and Martha Layne Collins High School in Kentucky when his younger son, who played for Collins, hit a grand slam. Naturally, he celebrated his son’s achievement.
According to WAVE News, Carroll’s other, older son, Jonathan, who was a teacher and an assistant coach at Shelby County, then allegedly charged at him and shoved the home plate umpire.
“Your own son charged you?” the WAVE News reporter asked.
“Yes he did,” Carroll said. “Very disheartening. Very heartbreaking. I don’t know what happened to him. I’ve never seen that part of him in my lifetime. He charges me. Umpire tries to get in his way. He shoves the home plate umpire two, three times, and the next thing I know, two deputy sheriffs go through the gate to try to corral him.”
But wait, it somehow gets even uglier.
Kentucky High School Baseball Game Turns Into A Family Feud
John Carroll claimed his ex-wife grabbed him by the shirt and his daughter-in-law threatened to shoot him.
Regarding his ex-wife, he said she grabbed him by the back of the shirt, turned him around, stuck a finger in his face and said, “If you had any decency, you would not cheer for one son over another.”
As for his daughter-in-law, the Shelby County coach’s wife, he claimed, “She threatened to kill me. Threatened to put a bullet between my eyes.”
Jonathan was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and menacing. His wife, Dominique, faced those charges plus terroristic threatening. Jonathan’s mother, Helena, was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct.
Their attorney, Bart McMahon, denied the allegations, calling the incident “an odd family dispute that spilled onto a ballfield.”
Carroll, meanwhile, was banned from attending Shelby County athletic events for the rest of the school year.
“He has pitched, and I’ve missed the best baseball of his high school career,” Carroll said. “I will never get that back ever.”
Three Years Later, The Baseball Dad Is Still Fighting
John Carroll was also a licensed high school umpire, which created a whole other problem. Shelby County athletic director Charlotte Marshall emailed Kentucky High School Athletic Association officials, accusing Carroll of taunting players, coaches and fans and questioning his impartiality.
He was temporarily suspended from umpiring before being reinstated. Carroll later sued Marshall and the school district for defamation and tortious interference. A court dismissed both claims, but that has now changed.
On November 6, the Kentucky Court of Appeals revived his defamation claim against Marshall because the lower court had used the wrong legal standard. His other claims remained dismissed.
That doesn’t mean the court determined Marshall defamed him. It means the lower court has to reconsider the claim.
And it all started at a high school baseball game where one son hit a grand slam, and another allegedly went after his own father. Three years later, they are still dealing with the fallout.