Texas parents filed a $1 million lawsuit after their son, a pitcher at a local Little League, was hit by a player during a line drive. The parents claim that the player used an illegal bat.
During a district championship game between Santa Fe All-Stars and League City All-Stars, 12-year-old Emmett Parsutt Jr of Santa Fe was hit by a ball with "tremendous force" and fell to the ground. He was then taken out on a stretcher from the field, reported KHOU11 News channel.
The kid's father Emmett Parsutt Sr, who witnessed the entire thing, said that he did not know the severity of the injury and remained by his son's side. However, he said the family suspected foul play in the game, which the opponent team League City won by 8-0.
"The umpire, when I was walking around, said something sounds funny on the bat they're using, the ball is coming off really, really different," Bryan Alexander, manager of Emmett's team, told KHOU 11 News. "We started noticing everyone on the team was using the same bat."
The Emmet family is now suing both League City Little League and Little League Baseball for a million dollars. The lawsuit claimed that the opponent team used an illegal bat and a parent of League City player locked it in his car after Emmett Jr was hit.
According to a Little League official, the bat was sent to League headquarters in Williamsport, PA for testing, reported KHOU. The manufacturer of the bat confirmed that the bat was not tampered. The League City president said the bat was used throughout the season and had no issues with it.
But, the family is not ready to believe it. "We know Little League International has done an investigation on a bat. We just don't know what bat it was," family's attorney Charles McMillan said.
As of now, Emmett is still recovering from eye twitches and headaches and will remain out of the game for rest of the season. "It's hard," Parsutt Jr. said. "I can't play sports for six months. That's all I do is play sports."
