A new Change.org petition has been created in hopes of restoring the Jackie Robinson West Little League baseball team (JRW) back to Little League International.
The petition also calls for the league to give the team their championship title back. The members of Jackie Robinson West garnered national attention after defeating Las Vegas for the Little League U.S. Championship last summer. It was an amazing round of positive press for the boys who briefly changed the reoccurring negative narrative of black men/boys in mainstream media.
“We remain very concerned about the fairness of your supposed investigation that was held to uncover these alleged violations,” the petition states.[…] “Why were the children of JRW singled out for such an investigation? […]
How is it that JRW played 22 games last season, complying with all league certifications without incident, and the alleged violations were not uncovered until 168 days AFTER the Little League World Series? How did Little League International not know of these supposed violations that would so significantly affect the outcome of a championship playoff? In fact, there were reports that [the League] investigated the claims of Chris James (now undergoing legal battles of his own) and found no infractions, so why did you later strip the champions of their hard earned title?”
JRW was removed from Little League International after officials determined the district had “knowingly violated Little League International Rules and Regulations by placing players on their team who did not qualify to play because they lived outside the team’s boundaries.”
Click here to view and sign the petition.
