Whistleblower’s Tall Tale

Jackie Robinson West Little League, the Chicago-based squad that became the first all-African-American team to win the US championship in the Little League World Series, has been stripped of its title.

Little League Baseball officially announced that Jackie Robinson West is stripped of all wins after the team violated a rule that prohibits the use of players living outside the appropriate district.

Not too surprisingly the Manager – Darold Butler has been suspended indefinitely from all Little League activity.

After Jackie Robinson West won the US championship (August 2014) a reporter wrote an article that  told how the league redrew the boundaries prior to the start of the 2014 season.

This was done without receiving or getting any permission from representatives from any other districts involved in the league play.

This allowed the Jackie Robinson West team to recruit players from the suburbs and other various districts in the state of Illinois.

Due to this underhanded situation any and all sanctions against Jackie Robinson West, the US title was awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League.

The are players that come from Las Vegas and were the runners up in the prestigious tournament held each year in Williamsport.

Little League International CEO Stephen D. Keener released a statement stating “For more than 75 years, Little League has been an organization where fair play is valued over the importance of wins and losses.”

He continued “This is a heartbreaking decision and 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.”

Jackie Robinson West is the first Little League team to have its title stripped since 1992, when Zamboanga, Philippines vacated its championship after being found to use over-age players  as well as players that lived outside its district.

The sad part for this is that Jackie Robinson West was one of the years best Amateur sports stories in 2014.

Remember when your parents told you that “Cheaters Never Win”!!