Jackie Robinson West, the Little League team from Chicago that represented the United States in the Little League World Series back in August, has been accused of cheating.
Last week, a report indicated that the US champs — who eventually lost to South Korea in the final — had players on its team who were from outside the appropriate district boundaries. Jackie Robinson West, a league located in the inner city, is said to have recruited players from the suburbs to improve its roster.
On Tuesday, Mark Konkol of DNA Chicago penned a lengthy piece that uncovers more information about JRW’s alleged cheating. According to Konkol, the league secretly redrew its boundaries before the 2014 season without receiving permission from representatives of any other district.
Any changing of boundaries must be approved by the president of each impacted league. Jackie Robinson West allegedly gave itself access to players within District 4 by redrawing the maps. According to Konkol, the move flew under the radar when someone who has a longtime history with JRW was put in charge of District 4 prior to the 2014 season.
But a shift in District 4 leadership before the 2014 season did change the gatekeeper in charge of submitting league documentation and tournament qualifying affidavits to Little League International.
And the new district boss, Michael Kelley, had a long history with Jackie Robinson West.
Kelley, a Chicago firefighter, told ESPN Chicago that he has coached in the Jackie Robinson West league for 25 years and served as league vice president for 20 years before taking over as district administrator this year.
Chris Janes, the vice president of Evergreen Park Little League and the one who made the initial accusations against Jackie Robinson West, has called for JRW to be stripped of its US title. Kevin Ricketts, the coach of an Indiana team that JRW beat in the Little League World series, agrees.
“Nothing Little League could do would make us whole again. Nothing gives us Williamsport,” Ricketts told DNA Chicago. “There’s no next year in Little League baseball. But if Jackie Robinson West changed its map without other presidents signing off on it … it smells like cheating. If it’s true they did it to get specific kids on their team, that’s not in the spirit of Little League. … And it’s sad if they did that.
“Little League should take action and not bury their head in the sand.”
The major issue with all of this is that Jackie Robinson West was one of the feel good stories of the year in the sports world. The Chicago Cubs wore these warmup jerseys as a tribute to the team, which also visited the White House to meet Barack Obama. JRW’s incredible run also inspired a business owner to pay rent for a player whose family had fallen on hard times.
Little League International has already stated that it looked into Janes’ claims and considered them unfounded. Given the new details that have surfaced, a more thorough investigation could be in order.
H/T Big League Stew
