Illinois Mayor Jay Farquhar Comments on Striking Youth Baseball Umpire

Monee, Illinois, mayor Jay Farquhar claimed he acted in self-defense when he struck a youth baseball umpire during a game Saturday morning. 

Patrick Elwood of WGN reported an official for the Monee Baseball and Softball League stated Farquhar and Tim Nelson got into a dispute over a foul ball after the second inning. Nelson, 56, claimed his jaw was broken in two places as a result of the incident.

The situation occurred during a youth game involving a team coached by Farquhar, which featured children as young as seven years old—a group that included Farquhar's son. Village manager Reuben Bautista confirmed the case has since been referred to the Will County Sheriff's Department, according to the report.

A league official told WGN that Farquhar has been suspended from coaching in the league for a year after gathering information from witnesses. The village's mayor also cannot attend games.

The report included a statement Farquhar posted on Facebook:

"

[T]here is no excuse for striking an official...in retrospect, it was a reaction which lacked comprehensively best judgement for the coach (me) to defend myself against the physical escalation of the umpire as such I willingly left the field and recognize the need to suspend my helping to coach that team the rest of this season.

"

Nelson told Erin Gallagher of the Chicago Tribune the situation became violent after he purposely gave a player an extra swing by calling a foul tip rather than a strikeout. He claims that led the mayor to call him a "drunk."

"This started because I give a little girl an extra strike," Nelson said. "I'm just trying to make sure the kids have fun."

Will County Sheriff Deputy Chief Tom Budde stated Nelson admitted to grabbing Farquhar before getting struck, according to the Chicago Tribune. An interview with the mayor is still pending.

WGN noted Nelson is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday and expects his jaw to remain wired shut for a month.