Jackie Robinson West Stripped Of U.S. Little League Title

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 11, 2015 2:00PM

The Jackie Robinson West Little League baseball team, which became the first African American team to win the U.S. Little League championship and captured the hearts of the city last summer, was stripped of its title by Little League Baseball after an investigation found some the team's players lived outside the boundaries where JRW recruits.

Little League Baseball said JRW must vacate its national and Great Lakes regional titles and all its wins in the Little League World Series. The organization suspended JRW coach Darold Butler and removed Illinois District 4 administrator Michael Kelly.

There had been rumblings for months that Jackie Robinson West falsified its boundary map so that it encroached into other districts, allowing the team's management to recruit players and form what amounted to a superteam. Kelly, who coached Jackie Robinson West for 25 years and was its league vice president for 20 years, was appointed District 4 administrator last year after his predecessor, Victor Alexander Jr., refused to approve affidavits certifying residency for numerous players in the district, including JRW, because they didn’t have proper paperwork to verify they lived within recruiting boundaries.

Little League International CEO Stephen D. Keener called the decision "heartbreaking."

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.

As our Little League operations staff learned of the many issues and actions that occurred over the course of 2014 and prior, as painful as this is, we feel it 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.

The U.S.Title will now be awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League from Las Vegas. They and other Little League teams have been met with cries of "sore loser" by JRW supporters, and a racial component to the complaints cannot be discounted.

Ultimately, it is Kelly, Butler and the adults who manage the team who failed these kids.