So that heart-tugging story last summer about the underprivileged inner-city African-American kids who somehow came together to shock the nation on their run to the Little League World Series final? The uplifting journey that was destined to reverse the eroding interest and participation in baseball by America's black youth?
Well, it's joined the legion of UMass' 1996 Final Four appearance, Rosie Ruiz's Boston Marathon "win", and Pete Carroll's second USC national championship in being stricken from the record books.
Congratulations, Vegas.
And holy shit, do adults in youth sports suck.
Well, it's joined the legion of UMass' 1996 Final Four appearance, Rosie Ruiz's Boston Marathon "win", and Pete Carroll's second USC national championship in being stricken from the record books.
Little League Baseball has stripped the U.S. championship from the Chicago-based Jackie Robinson West team and has suspended the coach for violating a rule prohibiting the use of players who live outside the geographic area that the team represents, it was announced Wednesday.
The Jackie Robinson West team, the first all-African-American team to win the championship, must vacate wins from the 2014 Little League Baseball International Tournament -- including its Great Lakes Regional and United States championships.
The Jackie Robinson West Little League team was ruled to have used players from outside its local area by recruiting players from neighboring districts.
The team's manager, Darold Butler, has been suspended from Little League activity, and Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelly has been removed from his position.
The organization found that the Jackie Robinson team used a falsified boundary map, and that team officials met with neighboring Little League districts in Illinois to claim players and build what amounts to a superteam.
As a result, the United States championship has been awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League from Las Vegas.
Congratulations, Vegas.
And holy shit, do adults in youth sports suck.