U.S. Little League Champs Forced To Give Up Title

One of the most cherished traditions behind Little League baseball is community.  The team you play on is from your neighborhood.  Your teamates are friends and classmates.  Chances are you've played with them for years now.  Chicago based Jackie Robinson West won the U.S. Little League Championship in 2014.  But it turns out they violated rules in doing so.  Today, they were stripped of their title.

Instead of playing with kids within their district, they recruited kids from outside of allowed boundries to play for the team.  Along with vacating their championship, the team's manager has been suspended from all Little League activity, and the Illinios District 4 manager has also been removed from his post.

The real saddness in this story is the affect is has on the kids.  They were led by a group of adults that cared only about winning, and winning at any cost.  They were the first team comprised of all African American players to win the title.  That place in history is also now gone.  Little League is about teaching kids the right way to play, and the right way to win AND lose.  These kids from Chicago are learning that lesson the hard way.