Pointing to a “level of disrespect” shown to Jackie Robinson West, the Chicago team that won the U.S. championship in 2014 and became a national sensation has decided to cut ties with Little League, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The 2014 team, made up entirely of African American youngsters and based on the city’s South Side, was stripped of its Little League World Series U.S. title in February amid accusations that its leaders allowed players from outside district boundaries to compete for the team.
MORE: 42 memorable images of Jackie Robinson from the Sporting News archives
Little League’s ruling in February read, in part:
Now, the team will play this season in the Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth League, a team spokesman told the Tribune.
“It’s largely based on the disregard and disrespect shown by Little League that had a 43-year-old relationship with Jackie Robinson West,” spokesman Glenn Harston said, though Jackie Robinson West will maintain its Little League charter despite choosing to play in the Babe Ruth League, he added.
In March, Little League disbanded District 4, which included Jackie Robinson West and divided the district’s six teams between two other districts, according to DNAInfo.com. That move, without alerting Jackie Robinson West, apparently was the last straw.
Harston said Little League never communicated with team officials about its redistricting plans after the scandal erupted following the allegations of cheating. Harston told the Tribune the Ruth-Ripken organization’s districting does not follow the same borderlines as Little League, and the Jackie Robinson West team would be able to remain together.
