New Jersey town has the perfect new rule to stop parents from yelling at Little League umpires
"They're not baseball players, they're children."

A base coach tells a Little Leaguer to run home.
Parents who misbehave at their kids’ sporting events have become so commonplace that it’s forced sports psychologists to come up with a name for the behavior: Little League Parent Syndrome (LLPS).
Parents with LLPS are known for sitting in the stands and verbally abusing other players, parents, referees and umpires during games. This behavior has led to a decrease in the number of umpires and referees in youth sports because volunteers aren’t willing to subject themselves to harassment.
“There has been a huge drop off in the number of available referees and officials in youth sports due to the obnoxious behavior of parents,” says Rick Wolff, a sports-parenting expert, author, and 20-year host of the WFAN radio’s “The Sports Edge,” told The Washington Post.
So what has driven parents to such extreme behavior?
There are many different ways for a parent to be infected by LLPS. One of the biggest reasons is pure narcissism. Parents see their children as part of their identity, so if their kids lose, they feel like they lost, too.
“They often judge the child’s performance as an indication of how good of a parent they are,” Coach and Play Baseball says. “If Johnny hits a home run then ‘I must be a good parent.’ If Johnny strikes out, ‘Then I am embarrassed and I’m going to lay into him for embarrassing me.’”
Youth sports have also become more competitive because many parents see them as a potential road to lucrative college scholarships or professional contracts. Although, the truth is that only 0.3% of high school athletes will ever get a full-ride scholarship to a university.
In fact, many parents wind up spending more money chasing scholarships than their kids would have received if they ended up getting one.
A New Jersey youth baseball organization has found a unique way to combat parents with LLPS who harass umpires. The new rule states: If you fight with the umps during a game, you have to volunteer your time to umpire three games before you're allowed back as a spectator.
Parents who are forced to umpire will not do so alone. They will be paired with a certified umpire to ensure their calls are correct.
Deptford Township Little League President Don Bozzuffi hopes that when abusive parents become umpires, they’ll learn that things look a lot different behind the plate than they do from the stands.
"The main purpose is not for them to be able to call a baseball game, but for them to see what's going on out here, and it's not that easy," Bozzuffi told ABC 30. "They think that the call was bad, which always amazes me that they can see a strike better over there than the umpire can one foot in back of them," Bozzuffi added.
Ultimately, it’s all about creating a positive environment for kids that overzealous parents can't ruin. "They're not baseball players, they're children. So always keep that in the back of your mind and let them play," said Bozzuffi.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."