Dad pulls knife during fight at son's game
Associated Press
June 11, 2002 11:00:00

ATHENS, Ala. - The father of a youth baseball player was charged with a knife assault on another man who complained the defendant heckled players during a game.

Robert C. Fleming Jr., 45, allegedly yelled derogatory remarks at the son of Jim Wilson, 37, as the boys' teams played Saturday in a Dixie Youth game for 11- and 12-year-olds.

"Fleming's son's team was losing the game and apparently he was mouthing off and making some derogatory remarks about some players on the other team," Sheriff Mike Blakely said.

Witnesses said Wilson approached Fleming after the game and said he didn't appreciate the remarks.

"They got in a fist fight, and Wilson was getting the better of Fleming, so Fleming pulled out a hawkbill knife and started slicing," Blakely said.

Wilson needed more than 100 stitches on his back and face, The News-Courier of Athens reported Monday.

Fleming, on probation for a previous domestic violence conviction, was charged with assault and released on $10,000 bail.

In January, a Massachusetts man who beat another father to death at their sons' hockey practice in July 2000 was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison.