Earlier today, Little League® International released its decision in the alleged Jackie Robinson West cheating scandal in the 2014 season.

The decision in part reads:

The Charter/Tournament Committee has decided to vacate the league’s wins from the 2014 Little League® International Tournament, including its Great Lakes Regional and United States Championships, and suspend team manager Darold Butler, from Little League activity. Illinois District 4 Administrator, Michael Kelly, has also been removed from his position. Jackie Robinson West Little League has been placed on probation with its tournament privileges suspended until such a time that new leadership in the positions of President, Anne Haley, and Treasurer, Bill Haley, have been elected or appointed, and the league is fully compliant with all Little League International Regulations.

You can read the full text of the decision here.

I personally find this decision heartbreaking, as does my fellow ChicagoNow blogger Kim Z. Dale on her blog, Listing Beyond Forty. Her piece, Jackie Robinson West: When adults cheat kids lose, sums up my feelings quite nicely, so you should read it.

I’ve been thinking about this since last night and am angry with this decision. The kids themselves did nothing wrong. They played their hearts out and, by all accounts, did so with excellent sportsmanship.

Adults are entirely to blame for this. And we, as a society are to blame.

We accept cheating and lying every single day. We let politicians take us to war based on lies and fabrications. We make war heroes out of known liars, make blockbuster movies out of them, ignore the seedy parts of his story, and lash out at anyone who points out all the inaccuracies and damage done by the alleged hero. We let football teams play and win the Super Bowl when they allegedly cheated to get there. By continuing to buy his music, we tell Kanye West that his repeated temper tantrums when his favorite music doesn’t win the top awards and insults to all music lovers by telling us we have no taste, that his behavior is acceptable. We reinstate the wins previously stripped from Penn State during the Joe Paterno years when many children were brutally assaulted by Jerry Sandusky, Joe’s assistant coach, when by all accounts Mr. Paterno and Penn State looked the other way.

Simply put, we live in a society where winning trumps all. And if you don’t win or your friends don’t win, act like a petulant child.

I’m thrilled that the adults involved in this scandal have been punished. They should be. They should be banned from Little League and all sports forever.

I just wish there was a way to punish the adults without punishing the kids.

The Jackie Robinson West players, from some of the most impoverished parts of Chicago and with little opportunity, gave their communities hope. They showed themselves what honest, hard work can achieve. They learned about sportsmanship. For many of them, they may have put themselves on a track to escape poverty through educational opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.

I hope that in light of today’s decision, the kids continue to remember all the things they did that were right, that they hold their heads high, focus on the lessons they learned about achieving dreams and goals, and continue to show good sportsmanship. That will be the greatest victory of all.

Here’s a video from one of the players. I love this.
http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=4441ed2a84e74b66b60ce980f20deb84&ec=g3bHBhczr3UVZV1RvJ8ul99oV0jqqW0a

Many ChicagoNow bloggers wrote about Jackie Robinson West yesterday and they’ve all been collected here. 

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