(CHICAGO) The Jackie Robinson West Little League All-Stars are no longer the 2014 Little League National Champions. Little League International confirmed Wednesday it has vacated their title due to residency violations, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Jackie Robinson West manager Darold Butler has been suspended from Little League activity. Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelly has been removed from his position.
The league will have its tournament privileges suspended until it appoints replacements for League President Anne Haley and Treasurer, Bill Haley.
Little League International has concluded that Jackie Robinson West used a falsified boundary map.
“This is a heartbreaking decision,” said Stephen D. Keener, the Little League International president and CEO, in a statement. “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.”
This is the third time in the 68-year history of the Little League Baseball World Series that punitive actions have led to vacating wins from a league – first in 1992 with the disqualification of Zamboanga (Philippines) City Little League and again in 2001 with Rolando Paulino Little League from Bronx, N.Y.
Multiple messages over the last 24 hours left for Butler, first base coach Jason Little and pitching coach Jerry Houston were not returned. Little did not have a son on the team. Houston’s son, Josh, started the national championship game.
Butler’s wife, Dotty, could not be reached by phone.
“It’s a shame, it’s a complete shame,” said JRW parent Carlton Hondras. “It shouldn’t have been done to the children.”
If someone had to be penalized, he said, it should have been someone other than kids who are “striving to do better.”
In December, the national organization had shot down allegations that several members of last summer’s U.S. championship team violated the league’s residency requirements.
Those allegations were first made in October by Chris Janes, vice president of Evergreen Park Athletic Association, a rival organization.
He filed his complaint after noticing that school officials and politicians from several south suburbs boasted that members of the team were from their towns during the Little League World Series run last August.
At that time, Pat Wilson, senior vice president of operations for Little League International, was dismissive of Janes’ complaint.
What he did acknowledged, however, was that some players’ addresses included in Janes’ complaint did not match the addresses Little League International had on file for the players.
Wilson said the team provided a satisfactory explanation for those differences.
“The team provided documentation to support the residency in accordance with Little League rules,” Wilson told the Sun-Times in December. “We reviewed that documentation multiple times, and that documentation meets Little League’s criteria for residence as outlined in our rulebooks, and that’s basically it.”
Reached Tuesday, Janes — who endured a barrage of withering criticism when his allegation first became public — said he is happy the league is revisiting the issues.
“What I want to see is a public acknowledgement of wrongdoing,” Janes said. “It’s Little League baseball — we should all be playing by the same rules. If one team is not playing by the same rules as everyone else, that’s not right.”
Jackie Robinson West President Bill Haley and team coach Darold Butler did not respond to requests for comment.
One possible explanation for the varying addresses of team members? Split families and divorce. Children with parents who live apart get to choose which league they play in, so long as one parents’ home is within the league’s boundaries. Players also may be grandfathered into the league if they initially lived within the leagues boundaries.
Jackie Robinson West beat Las Vegas 7-5 in the U.S. championship game before falling to Seoul, South Korea, in the international championship.
The South Side squad became the first Chicago team to make an appearance in the championship in 31 years. It also was the first all African-American team to win the U.S. title.
–Sun-Times
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
