Little League quiet amid calls for Jackie Robinson West investigation
Another of Jackie Robinson West’s rival teams is calling for an investigation into cheating allegations against the Little League World Series’ U.S. champs — but it still doesn’t sound like Little League International is going to budge.
In the latest story to come out of Chicago, an official from a neighboring league is publicly calling for the main Little League headquarters to investigate Jackie Robinson West, even though Little League has said multiple times it considers the case closed.
If you missed the first two rounds of this battle: A Little League official from Evergreen Park earlier this month publicly accused Jackie Robinson West of recruiting players from outside its district and said he wants the team stripped of its title.
Next, it was discovered that before the 2014 season a Little League administrator in Chicago’s District 4 approved a new district map that helped Jackie Robinson West load its team up with star players. But that map wasn’t approved by any of the other teams in the district, as rules state it needs to be. The administrator at the center of this, Michael Kelley, was previously an official with Jackie Robinson West for 20 years, according to DNA Chicago.
Here’s the latest wrinkle, per Mark Konkol:
Ricardo Coleman, the vice president of Rosemoor, the league immediately east of Jackie Robinson West, told DNAinfo.com he was informed that his league neither knew about nor approved the boundary change. The change was signed off on by Michael Kelley, administrator for the District 4 umbrella group of six leagues that included Rosemoor and Jackie Robinson West.
Coleman also called on Little League International to investigate, becoming the first member of a District 4 league to do so publicly.
“I can tell you 200 percent that we didn’t sign off on that map,” Coleman said.
None of the complaining matters too much unless Little League International decides to investigate the matter further. It signed off on the Jackie Robinson West roster before the Little League World Series, and doubled down on its approval in October when Chris Janes, the Evergreen Park Athletic Association vice president, wrote a letter calling out JRW’s residency issues.
Little League doesn’t seem keen on looking into this again. Many critics believe that’s because the home office doesn’t want to tear down the feel-good story of the Jackie Robinson West team, an all-black group of players that had financial support from big leaguers. They eventually appeared at games with the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs, went to the MLB World Series and met President Obama at the White House.
Little League won’t release any documents about the district re-mapping to the local league officials in Chicago or to the media, even though Coleman has gone on record saying if Little League doesn’t have anything to hide, it should release the documents.
Little League International spokesman Brian McClintock reiterated this week that the matter was closed, telling DNA Chicago:
“We have not looked the other way simply to avoid the situation or come up with a particular conclusion,” McClintock wrote in an e-mail. “Given the information made available to us, understanding that not one complaint or dispute from any league arose in Illinois District 4 during the height of the 2014 season or during the tournament season, coupled with the fact that all players have been deemed eligible by 2014 residency or school enrollment requirements, Little League still considers this matter closed.”
Meanwhile in Evergreen Park, Janes believes Little League just isn’t interested in the truth. Still, he’s started an online petition asking for “Justice for Little League.” At the time of this posting, it had 81 signatures.
It all sounds like the Jackie Robinson West opponents have an uphill battle at this point, as the games are long finished and Little League has dug its heels in. If that’s case, if nothing else happens, then Janes contends that Little League is sending an unfortunate message. He told DNA Chicago:
“There is more incentive for teams and leagues to bend the rules in order to play in the World Series than ever before. Televised games, huge donations, sponsorships, commercial deals, parades … all make it easy for adults to try and rationalize foul play,” Janes said.
“If the rewards for success in the World Series tournament continue to be this rich, Little League really needs to reconsider how they manage the rules that are already in place. As it stands today, local Little League organizations are pretty much responsible for policing themselves. … But now, with all the incentive to cheat, I am not sure self-policed leagues work any more.”
And while the adults fight, you can bet there are kids all over this country who can’t wait until Little League season starts up again in a few months.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
