Two Texas A&M fans were thrown out of a College World Series game after they apparently taunted Florida’s baseball coach over his peripheral ties to a lurid double-murder and suicide three years ago, police said Monday.
The ugly incident unfolded late Saturday in the first inning of the rain-delayed Aggies-Gators game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
A close play at third base went against Florida, and ESPN cameras were focused on the Gators’ dugout to see whether Florida would challenge the umpire's call.
But what they captured were two men, decked out in A&M gear, leaning into Florida's dugout and screaming at Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan before stadium security peeled them away.
“Those folks were banned and barred from the stadium, so they will no longer be attending any more games,” Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci told NBC News on Monday.
The unidentified fans will be persona non grata for the rest of the tournament, though their future CWS attendance will be decided by ballpark management, local law enforcement and the NCAA, a stadium official said.
"We're having ongoing discussions on that, but the last I understand, this [stadium ban] will likely be for a year," said Kristyna Engdahl, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority, which operates the stadium.
The union representing Omaha police officers decried the incident and urged tournament organizers to make sure the A&M fans never get into another CWS game.
"Heckling an opposing baseball team about the tragic death of their batboy is beyond unacceptable," the union said. "Glad our officers and security threw this duo out of Charles Schwab Field."
In early May 2021, medical sales executive Paul Otto Reinhart, 46, killed his two young sons and himself after having recently separated from his wife of nearly 20 years, Minde Reinhart.
O'Sullivan was a family friend of Reinhart's, and one of the slain boys had been a Gators batboy.
The boys' mother went on to marry O'Sullivan and form a foundation named after the victims.
Eric Sorenson, a writer who follows college baseball, said the two A&M fans were "saying that he killed someone" and that he should "be ashamed" of himself before stadium security moved in.
Engdahl, the stadium management spokesperson, called Saturday night’s dugout scene an “unfortunate” incident of “disruptive behavior and abusive language.”
“And this certainly falls within that realm for removal from the ballpark,” she added.
After the game, which A&M won 3-2, Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle said he doesn't want to see those two fans at any future games.
“I want to apologize on behalf of Texas A&M for whatever the heck went on over there in that dugout,” Schlossnagle said. “Whoever those two guys are, they don’t represent what Texas A&M is all about, and whoever they are, just don’t come back. Let’s not let those two guys back in the ballpark.”
Florida staved off elimination, defeating North Carolina State, 5-4, on Monday afternoon. The Gators next play Tuesday night against Kentucky in another elimination game.
