Remember the plucky Little League team from Chicago who defeated Mo’ne Davis and her Taney teammates on their way to the Little League World Championship last year?
Well, the Chicago team was stripped of their Little League Championship title today amid shocking allegations that they recruited over aged ‘ringers’ from outside the team’s boundaries.
A sports ‘ringer’ is an athlete who provides a team with an advantage due to his age, physical strength, or advanced experience.
The Little League announced a stunning decision on Wednesday to strip Chicago’s all-black Jackie Robinson West team of their Little League title after the baseball organization found out the team falsified its boundaries to recruit ineligible players, and then went to surrounding leagues to convince them to go along with what they’d done.
Ironically, President Obama (who lied about his stance on same sex marriage in order to get elected) is from Chicago.
“This is a heartbreaking decision,” Stephen D. Keener, the Little League International president and CEO, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As painful as it is, we feel it is a necessary decision to maintain the integrity of the Little League program. No team can be allowed to attempt to strengthen its team by putting players on their roster that live outside their boundaries.”
Keener also announced the suspension of the team’s manager, Darold Butler, from all Little League activities.
The baseball organization was tipped off to the rules violations by another coach who said Chicago’s coaches were recruiting players from the surrounding suburbs. The allegations were first reported by DNAinfo.com.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
