Former All-Star pitcher Mitch Williams, embroiled in controversy over his behavior at a youth baseball tournament, will take a leave of absence from his analyst duties at MLB Network, the New York Daily News reports.
"We are continuing to look into the matter," a network spokesperson told the newspaper.
The leave of absence follows multiple reports in Deadspin that Williams acted like (let's be blunt here) a complete jackass at a Ripken Baseball tournament in Aberdeen, Md. on the weekend of May 10-11. Williams was a coach for his son's 10U Jersey Wild team. That's "10U," as in 10 years old and younger. Good job, Mitch.
Here's a rundown of the Williams' actions, as reported by Deadspin:
• On May 10, Williams was ejected from a game "after a profanity-laced tirade in which he called an umpire a 'm—f—" in front of the children." This followed numerous arguments with the umpires during the game. "Two different observers told us Williams had to be physically separated from the umpire by other coaches. Williams then refused to leave the field, causing a 10-minute delay in play; as a result of his antics, he was initially banned from the tournament."
Ripken officials later lifted the ban.
• The next day, parents and coaches told Deadspin, Williams "called one child 'a p—' while ordering one of his own 10-year-old players to hit the opposing pitcher with a beanball."
Unless the allegations somehow turn out to be false, it's difficult to see how Williams ever appears on MLB Network again.