Typically when there is an incident of poor sportsmanship in Little League baseball, it’s coming from one of the kids. That was not the case in an incident at a Houston baseball game for children 9-and-under on Saturday, where Scorpions baseball coach Kenneth Wendt was seen showing some extremely poor sportsmanship during a handshake line after the game.
Wendt’s team lost the game to the Prospects baseball team, and when it came time for both teams to shake hands, Wendt was seen not only refusing to shake hands but was seen bumping a number of children after the game.
A Little League baseball coach was fired for this encounter in the high-five line after his team lost a game last weekend. Kenneth Wendt is also a sergeant with the Harris County Pct. 5 Constable's Office. @xmanwalton has more tonight at 10. #khou11
MORE: https://t.co/d2nYjxkboB pic.twitter.com/0ZbT552B8N
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) July 12, 2022
You can hear a number of the kids complaining that they got pulled back or hit by Wendt in the video recording, but it is even more clear when you see the interaction slowed down.
It’s shocking to see a coach act even more childish than the kids that he is coaching, and luckily he was relieved of his duties as coach of the team on Sunday. What is even more jarring is that Wendt also serves as a local police officer on a day-to-day basis, which seems troubling considering his treatment of children in this video.
This video may have even more consequences for Wendt, as the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, where Wentz is a sergeant, announced that they are also investigating the video.
Prospects baseball coach Victor Torres discussed the incident with KHou 11 News on Monday and did not mince words about the situation, calling out Wendt for his reckless behavior.
“How is that even possible,” Torres said. “You hold them to a higher standard. And then you come out here and do that to kids, to 9-year-old kids.”
While Torres is rightly upset, this is actually a prime example of a teaching lesson to his young players, showing them exactly what not to do and how to conduct themselves.
“Just like I tell my kids” ‘We don’t lose, we learn,'” Torres said. “You don’t do that to 9-year-olds. You don’t put your hands on 9-year-olds. Especially not someone else’s child.”
The only positive takeaway out of this is that Wendt will not be coaching baseball any longer for the Scorpions after this viral video got so much attention against him.
