College baseball umpire Reggie Drummer went viral earlier this month for call a strike on an obvious ball to end a game between Mississippi Valley State and the University of New Orleans.
drummer, what was suspended by the Southland Conference and did not umpire the last two games of the series because of the call, he told his side of the story on «The Plate Meeting» podcast Thursday.
A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before Game 1 of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
The viral moment occurred when the New Orleans pitcher he threw an obvious ball down and off the plate, but Drummer called strike three, ending the game.
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Drummer told the podcast that racially charged language was used towards him early in the game and continued throughout the game.
Drummer, who is black, said the language comes from the state’s Mississippi Valley side, a Historically black college and university.
«It started in the first inning. [Mississippi] Valley hit first as the road team,» Drummer said on the podcast.
«And one person in particular, Valley head coach Milton [Barney], his brother was probably the loudest in the park. And he was letting me know that they [Drummer’s strike calls] they were not strikes. So when Valley comes to play defense and UNO comes to bat, Valley was throwing pitches that were off the plate and I was calling balls. And they let me have it.»
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The Ole Miss Rebels prepare to take on the Oklahoma Sooners during the Division I Men’s Baseball Championship held at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on June 25, 2022 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Drummer said that in the third inning, fans were accusing him of helping New Orleans, and he ejected Barney’s brother from the game for using racist language at him.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Barney confirmed his brother’s ejection, but said he didn’t hear any racial slurs from the stands.
«I didn’t hear any of that. Of course, I’m trying to coach a baseball game,» Barney said. «I think as a coach we’re not listening to the stands or what people are saying in the stands. So, we didn’t hear any racial slurs and we didn’t say any racial slurs on the bench either. As far as the fans, I can’t speak to that because I’m not listening to that. I’m trying to train to win a baseball game.»
In the seventh inning, Drummer and the umpire team exchanged a call, which is when Barney came out to argue.
«And that’s when he hinted that as a black man, I should help them win,» Drummer said.
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«I’m not upset,» Drummer continued. «I’m more hurt because I get all this from my people when I know I’m calling a good game, I’m calling a fair game.»
Barney denied Drummer’s accusation, telling Fox News Digital that he told Drummer he wanted to be «treated with the same respect that he treated them.» [New Orleans].»
«As far as helping us win? We’re never going to ask a referee to help us win,» Barney said. «To me that’s ridiculous.»
«Clearly I didn’t say anything of that nature to him because I stayed for the whole game,» he continued. «If I’d been saying something like that, I’m pretty sure I would have been thrown out. Like I said, there’s no point in asking him to help us win the game.»
It all led to the now infamous end of the game when Drummer called out Mississippi State Valley left fielder Davon Mims to end the game.
«I should have ejected him when he pointed,» Drummer told the podcast. «Right now, my error in judgment is through the roof because I was sitting here saying, ‘I can’t believe my own people treated me like this for three hours.’ And I said to myself… ‘I feel like I’m on an island and I just want to get out of here’.»
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Drummer said he decided that if any pitch was near the plate, he would call it a strike to get out of the situation he was in.
NCAA signage is seen on the field before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Ole Miss Rebels during the Division I Men’s Baseball Championship held at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on June 26, 2022 in Omaha, Nebraska. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
«I called a bad pitch, which I regret,» he said. «I apologize for doing that, but I just wanted to get out of a hostile environment because I’ve never been in a situation like that before.»
While Barney hasn’t had a chance to speak to Drummer since the incident, he says he has no hard feelings towards the referee.
«I don’t have a problem with him,» Barney told Fox News Digital. «I’m not going to attack him and try to beat him up because ultimately that guy does a lot for the community.»
«We were in no way being racist to him. We don’t have a reason to do that,» Barney continued. «Our team has a lot of races. Nobody here is racist. Everybody here loves everybody. We don’t see color. It just doesn’t happen.»
Drummer has returned to refereeing since the March 10 incident.