Veteran umpire Reggie Drummer is back officiating games after a viral strike call against Mississippi Valley State University left him suspended from multiple conferences.
“Man, I received death threats. All kinds of hate text messages and emails and stuff and it didn’t bother me because those people didn’t know me but my family saw it so that’s why it affected me so bad,” Reggie Drummer detailed.
“I just regret the whole situation happening. You learn from it. I know how to handle it from now on.”
Reggie Drummer has been officiating for seven years and has been heckled by fans before, but he says the MVSU fans took it to an extreme.
“Because it was racist, you know, it wasn’t ‘blue, you suck’, it wasn’t ‘you horrible’. They can say anything cause that’s baseball. But when you start calling me the “N” word, all kind of racial other stuff I mean, that hurts because I know I’m not that person, you know, I do too much for the community. I do too much for black umpires.”
“If I wanted to screw a kid, why would I put all this other work off the field to do something that bad on the field? Yes, I had a lapse in judgment. I regret doing it and you just have to move on. You know, I thank God that, I’m strong enough to handle it.”
Drummer has been back behind the plate since the incident in March. We caught up with him at the 2023 Black College World Series where he was a part of the umpire crew for the championship game.
“I never lost my confidence. I mean, yes, we miss pitches. We’re human, you know. When I walked on the field, actually, I had a, like a standing ovation and the people were saying they were supporting me So that meant a lot. I have I have gotten so much support from so many people, especially high-ranking officials.”