• Source: Disqualification of Jackie Robinson West Little League from the 2014 Little League World Series

The Jackie Robinson West little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League, or JRW, based in Washington Heights, Chicago, Illinois, United States, competed in the 2014 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The team was very successful, winning the U.S. bracket of the tournament, before ultimately losing the championship game to a team from South Korea. Following the tournament, little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball was tipped that JRW was definitely using ineligible players during their run to Williamsport. This led to a thorough investigation, which ultimately resulted in little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball stripping JRW of all its 2014 accomplishments on February 11, 2015.




Background


In 1999, little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball launched its "Urban Initiative," which led to the launch of inner city little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League programs across the United States, including the Jackie Robinson West little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League. Jackie Robinson West (JRW) was the second little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League formed from the Urban Initiative to make it all the way to the little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series. The other was the 2002 Harlem little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League team from Harlem, New York City.
The 2014 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series was filled with many other notable storylines aside from JRW being the first all-black team to compete in the tournament in several decades. This was the first little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series to feature a team from the state of Nevada, being represented by Las Vegas-based Mountain View little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League (which became the U.S. champion by default after JRW was stripped of its title). This little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series also saw the appearance of Mo'ne Davis, the first female pitcher to win a game in Williamsport.




Initial investigation


The first warning signs that JRW was playing with ineligible players were noticed by Chris Janes, a coach and vice president with Evergreen Park Athletic Association little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League, who witnessed his team lose to JRW with the score of 43-2 during the Chicago City little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League tournament. According to Janes, he witnessed some of the players being toasted by communities outside of the team's district boundaries and, in some instances, outside of Chicago itself. After doing some personal investigating, Janes discovered that four or five of the players lived outside of the team's district boundaries – "manipulating, bending and blatantly breaking the rules for the sole purpose of winning at all costs." By that point, JRW had defeated a team from New Albany, Indiana, to win the Great Lakes Regional tournament and had advanced to Williamsport.
Three months later, reports emerged that little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League was beginning their investigation, which was completed in the same month. The officials concluded based on the results of this investigation that Team Manager Darold Butler, Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelley, Team President Anne Haley, and Team Treasurer Bill Haley were guilty of conspiring to recruit players from outside their district. They covered their tracks by persuading officials in other leagues to alter the boundaries, something that the players and their parents allege that they were not informed of.




little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League’s investigation and outcome


Following the completion of the 2014 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series, which saw Seoul little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League from Seoul, South Korea, defeat JRW 8–4 in the championship game, little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball launched an investigation into the actions of JRW officials prior to the start of the tournament. little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League initially saw no documentations suggesting that any of the players on the 2014 JRW team lived outside of the team's district boundaries. This led to little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League initially closing the investigation in December 2014.
Other officials from neighboring little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League organizations came forward after the investigation was initially closed, saying that they had not wanted to upend the team's championship season. After top little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League officials interviewed the new parties in January 2015, they discovered JRW used a falsified district map which annexed three neighboring leagues into its district area. This map was backdated and submitted to little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League officials without the permission of the leagues that were added into JRW's district area. When JRW officials and Michael Kelley, the administrator for Illinois little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League District 4, which oversees JRW and several other Chicago leagues, tried to get all the neighboring leagues to approve this map, they refused.
Because of these findings, little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball announced on February 11, 2015, that it would vacate JRW's accomplishments during the 2014 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series, including the team's United States Championship and Great Lakes Regional Championship, among all others. little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League also announced that the team's manager, Darold Butler, had been suspended, and that JRW would be on probation until new management could be found to run the league" target="_blank">league. little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League also removed Michael Kelley from his role as administrator for Illinois little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League District 4.




Aftermath


Following the decision by little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball to vacate all of JRW's accomplishments, all the team's wins for that year's tournament were forfeited which, according to little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League's rules, goes down as a 6–0 win for the forfeiting team's opponent.
Also, by default,

The United States championship went to the team that was defeated by JRW in the U.S. championship game: Mountain Ridge little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Great Lakes Regional championship went to the team that JRW defeated in the Great Lakes Regional final: New Albany little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League from New Albany, Indiana. All the members of the New Albany team were also invited by little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League to travel to the 2015 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series since they were effectively denied that opportunity by JRW's actions the previous year.
In February 2016, the families of thirteen of the 2014 JRW players attempted to sue little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball, Chris Janes, ESPN, and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. They alleged that little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball and JRW officials had deliberately obfuscated details about the players' eligibility to "reap the benefits of notoriety and media attention", did not grant due process, that Smith made defamatory remarks on the ESPN program First Take that "directly accused the JRW parents of perpetrating a fraud against the little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League", and that Janes had violated their right to privacy by using license plates to identify the players' residencies. A judge ruled that Smith's comments were a personal opinion protected by the First Amendment, and removed both ESPN and Smith from the lawsuit in June 2017.
In September 2016, Janes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League International, alleging that officials had knowingly covered up JRW's wrongdoing. After he filed his initial claim with little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League International, it was stated on December 16, 2016, that Janes' claim had no merit. The lawsuit stated, "Subsequently, Janes and his family were subjected to public humiliation, death threats and fear for their lives." Janes alleges intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. He is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. A spokesman for little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League did not respond to request for comment.

As of April 2018, the remainder of the lawsuit remains pending. The New Albany little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League returned to the Great Lakes Regional championship game in 2018, losing again to a team from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, by a score of 13–0. A few days after their defeat, head officials of New Albany little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League asked little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Central District to look into the residency of players on the Michigan team, fearing that they had been defeated the same way that JRW defeated them four years prior. No wrongdoings of any kind were discovered.
In April 2021, all claims against the team's volunteer coaches, who had been sued for fraud by little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League for their alleged roles in the eligibility scheme, were dismissed after the coaches filed a motion for summary judgment. A separate suit, brought by the players against little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League Baseball, Inc., Jackie Robinson West little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League, Inc., and its administrators, was settled a week later. The players did not sue the coaches, and refused to sign a statement they saw as implying blame on the coaches. Court documents showed that the players and volunteer coaches had no knowledge of cheating, although other adults involved with the program did.




See also


Danny Almonte, an ineligible participant of the 2001 little" target="_blank">Little league" target="_blank">League World Series
Cheating in baseball




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Disqualification of Jackie Robinson West Little League from the 2014 Little League World Series
• 2014 Little League World Series
• Jerry Lawler
• Cheating in baseball
• Bob Backlund
• Sports journalism
• Braun Strowman
• Kofi Kingston
• Cody Rhodes
• John Cena