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 announced on Wednesday that Jackie Robinson West must vacate all of its wins after the team violated a rule that prohibits the use of players who live outside the appropriate district that the team represents. Manager Darold Butler has been suspended indefinitely from Little League activity.
After Jackie Robinson West won the US championship back in August, a reporter penned a lengthy piece that described how the league secretly redrew its boundaries before the 2014 season without receiving permission from representatives from any other district. This allowed Jackie Robinson West to recruit players from the suburbs and other districts in Illinois.
As a result of the sanctions against Jackie Robinson West, the US title has been awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League from Las Vegas — the runners up in the tournament.
“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 Wednesday. “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.”
Jackie Robinson West is the first Little League team to have its title stripped since 1992, when Zamboanga, Philippines vacated its championship after using over-age players and players that lived outside its district.
The real tragedy here is that Jackie Robinson West was one of the feel-good sports stories of the year in 2014. The Chicago Cubs honored the team with these warmup jerseys before a game, and the team’s incredible run inspired a business owner to pay rent for a player whose family had fallen on hard times. We wish it could have ended differently.
