Jackie Robinson West stripped of its national title (Chicago, Lansing: 2015, layoffs)

[Drover]

Maybe it's time for the grown-ups to step back and reflect on the original purpose of Little League? Was it worth putting the kids through this for your own brief moment of vicarious glory?

Jackie Robinson West stripped of Little League title - Chicago Tribune

[ParkerP]

I can't view the video at work but please tell me that the coaches or team managers also made statements and did not allow that child to represent the team by himself at that press conference

[Chuckity]

It's sad for the kids who played - but there were kids from Homewood, Lynwood, Lansing, etc. on that team ... how is that fair? You want to pick and choose who is on your team - that's what travel ball is for - NOT Little League.

Ugh.

I'm even more disgusted by Jesse Jackson & Father Pfleger jumping into the mix with the immediate cry of "it was racism!"

It wasn't. It was rules.

The guy from Evergreen Park who blew this whistle on this is about as far from being a racist as one could get.

[glass_of_merlot]

I was wondering why Jesse Jackson was there. Is the whole team all minorities? What an opportunist he is.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Chuckity

It's sad for the kids who played - but there were kids from Homewood, Lynwood, Lansing, etc. on that team ... how is that fair? You want to pick and choose who is on your team - that's what travel ball is for - NOT Little League.

Ugh.

I'm even more disgusted by Jesse Jackson & Father Pfleger jumping into the mix with the immediate cry of "it was racism!"

It wasn't. It was rules.

My thoughts exactly.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Chuckity

It's sad for the kids who played - but there were kids from Homewood, Lynwood, Lansing, etc. on that team ... how is that fair? You want to pick and choose who is on your team - that's what travel ball is for - NOT Little League.

Ugh.

I'm even more disgusted by Jesse Jackson & Father Pfleger jumping into the mix with the immediate cry of "it was racism!"

It wasn't. It was rules.

The guy from Evergreen Park who blew this whistle on this is about as far from being a racist as one could get.

For anybody that has had their son or daughter participate in organized sports the fact is there are all kinds of very specific rules for every kind of sport. If you want to be on an "everybody gets equal time on the field" kind of time like AYSO soccer you still have to prove your child is registered for the appropriate size field based on their birth certificate. Ditto for YMCA, Pops Warner, swimming, whatever.

If you decide your kid has the commitment to play on a "travel time" you can sign them up and let the coaches decide the appropriate level up to the point that those rules allow.

If you decide to participate in Little League there are clear boundaries over which kids are to play with their classmates / neighbors. That is kind of the "magic" of these often very little towns in the middle of nowhere winning their state playoffs and then going to the "world series".

Somebody clearly decided to "bend the rules" and in a place like Illinois one need not imagine that take after the bad example of others.

Really feel terrible for the kids and parents that got sucked into what was probably cooked up as just a way to get the best kids playing together, but that is NOT how the Little Rules work and no doubt from now on there will be more scrutiny on this there is in making sure that kids go to the right school district and similar attendance based boundaries...

[Attrill]

I think Little League International is completely schizophrenic, which is what caused this entire situation.

On one hand they are responsible for running a high stakes playoff series, where it makes sense to have strict rules to prevent coaches from building a team of ringers. Unfortunately they do absolutely nothing to verify or even facilitate the creating maps of who is eligible to play, and leave that to a patchwork of different local volunteer organizations.

On the other hand they are running an organization to promote baseball among kids, and get as many kids to play as they can. That's why they're very lenient on letting kids who attend a private or charter school outside where they reside to play in a division. It's why kids can choose different parents, guardians, or relatives to list for their residence. It's why kids get grandfathered into divisions even when they move. In short - they make the rules incredibly lenient to allow as many kids as possible to play.

Most of the time this leniency allows kids to keep playing with their friends. To allow them to be part of a team that has the most convenient location for them (anytime you draw borders, someone is inconvenienced by being at the edge of the border). Some teams in areas with low participation wouldn't exist if they weren't lax with the rules. This sort of logic applies to the vast majority of teams out there.

There is however a smaller group of teams that has been using the unclear rules and non-existent enforcement as a way to build powerhouse teams. Pretty much every regional championship team falls into this category. Little League has tolerated this in order to have higher quality games at the national level (thereby getting better TV contracts) and to have the best team possible reach the international level (if they enforce the rules applied to JWR nationally, the US will get slaughtered in international competition every year).

If the rules were clear, and had been enforced in the past, I would have no problem with them taking back the title. I'd also have no problem if they declared that they're cracking down next year, and telling every team to get it together. I would even be fine if they had checked the eligibility of every teams' players before beginning the national championship. I think it is a total load of crap to run the league as they always have, and then change their minds after the season is long over.

[glass_of_merlot]

I think they knew exactly what they were doing and they got caught.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Chuckity

I'm even more disgusted by Jesse Jackson & Father Pfleger jumping into the mix with the immediate cry of "it was racism!"

Yeah, what a marvelous example they're setting for these kids. It wasn't bad enough that their coaches set a crappy example by stacking the deck; now you have other adults telling the kids it was OK for the coaches to cheat because, I dunno, black people should be given a pass when they break the rules as restitution for their history of oppression or something? I can't even imagine the moral imbecility it takes to stand in front of a television camera and excuse what these tools did because of their race.

[MassVt]

It's the same kind of mentality that middle-aged guys have for their alma mater's football/basketball/etc team. Why would a 55 yo guy get all animated/upset about the fortunes of a collegiate football team? Doesn't he have more important things to be worried about? Let the current players/students/coaches worry about it, not some long-since graduated guy trying to relive the old days. I'll never understand these crazy alumni...