A Kingsport Axmen baseball player was arrested Tuesday after reportedly making threats to kill his teammates after being dismissed from the team earlier that day.
Meanwhile, the season is in limbo.
Matthew T. Taylor, 21, of Kingsport and a former baseball player at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tennessee, was arrested and charged with felony false reporting and harassment. He is out on $25,000 bond.
According to Kingston police, officers were called to Hunter Wright Stadium as team management dismissed Taylor from the team and banned him from the stadium premises. He left without incident, but police were later called back after Taylor made threats to a teammate on Snapchat saying he would “kill everyone single one of y’all” and also made references to “Columbine 2.0.”
Kingsport Axmen, the collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League, later announced that Tuesday’s doubleheader against Greeneville was postponed. Monday’s game had already been postponed.
On Thursday, Chris Allen, the president of Boyd Sports, said all players were allowed to leave because of the threats.
“Since becoming aware of this matter, Boyd Sports, USA Baseball and MLB all have aimed to act with the best interests of the welfare of the players and staff in mind,” Allen said in a letter to fans and shared with area media. “Discussions regarding to these unusual circumstances, USA Baseball made the decision to allow the players of the Kingsport Axmen to return home.”
Allen also said in the letter that a travel team would be assembled with different players to finish out the season.
Boyd Sports also owns the Class AA Tennessee Smokies as well as Appalachian League teams based in Johnson City, Greeneville and Elizabethton.
The Appalachian League has transitioned to a summer collegiate league featuring rising freshmen and sophomores as a part of the Prospect Development Pipeline, a partnership between the MLB and USA Baseball.
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kingsport baseball season in limbo after ex-player’s alleged threats