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Jackie Robinson West was one of the most thrilling teams to watch last year. The Chicago team won the United States Little League World Series and made it to the Little League World Series, ultimately losing to South Korea. Unfortunately, the team had to hand the title back after Little League was made aware of the team knowingly violating residency rules.
Little League baseball opened an investigation which left head coach Darold Butler suspended from any Little League action and Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelly without a job. The investigation was to determine if the team had players on the team that lived out of the geographical area it represents.
“For more than 75 years, Little League has been an organization where fair play is valued over the importance of wins and losses,” Little League International CEO Stephen D. Keener said in a statement. “This is a heartbreaking decision. What these players accomplished on the field and the memories and lessons they have learned during the Little League World Series tournament is something the kids can be proud of, but it is unfortunate that the actions of adults have led to this outcome.”
Little League Baseball said it was tipped off about the violation in September when a league official from a neighboring district reached out.
I don’t know which is more depressing about this story. The fact that we’ve now corrupted sports down to the 6th-grade level, or the jerks who got caught breaking the rules now claim this is all about racism.