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'{{Short description|Disqualification of baseball team}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}} [[File:Jackie Robinson West.jpg|thumb|435x435px|Members of the Jackie Robinson West Little League meeting President [[Barack Obama]] at the [[White House]] in fall of 2014, prior to their accomplishments being vacated.]] The '''Jackie Robinson West Little League''', or '''JRW''', based in [[Washington Heights, Chicago|Washington Heights, Chicago, Illinois]], United States, competed in the [[2014 Little 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 League Baseball]] was tipped that JRW may have been using ineligible players during their run to Williamsport. This led to a thorough investigation, which ultimately resulted in Little League Baseball stripping JRW of all its 2014 accomplishments on February 11, 2015. == Background == Your Mom Is your mom who is a skibidi ohio sigma tax rizzlerThe Skibidi Ohio War Part Skibidi Chapter Ohio War This was the final answer. The answer that explained the sigma, not ohio. In fact, about war. SkibidiOhio and his gyatt, Toilet, who had disappeared almost sixty-nine years ago, were always told about a war, but when there were other Ohioans taking care of them for a few hours, they would tell the two it was skibidi, and it was just some ligma going around. But SkibidiOhio never had any rizz; he only needed to know if there truly was Ohio, and if so, fanum tax it. But right now, he needed to know rizzly,: Is there nothing to fanum about, or was he about to face the Ohioans, and possibly die? Was this the next Rizzler? About one hour later, SkibidiOhio had rizzed around the whole area (Barely gyatt anything), though it felt to him he had fanumed much more than that. But not a single Ohioan in sight. Wait, SkibidiOhio thought. I searched barely any area, so obviously it wouldn’t be here. But… where would it be? With all the land to explore, it could take years. But my best tax, keep searching. SkibidiOhio had seen Toilet flying earlier, but he didn’t bother to go find her. He knew that she was out there, most likely in some McDonald's (she had dreamed of flying at a McDonald's, and then hanging out with Ronald McDonald and Grimace for the rest of her life), but that definitely did not matter. Then he realized that he didn’t even know where he was going. Maybe towards skibidi? He had seen evidence of it going on right now, but that didn’t change his mind. Then, he realized that about at least 100 gyatts were all close together. The Skibidi Ohio War had started. Rizzler Meteors dropped everywhere and SkibidiOhio was hit. They needed a Ligma like Ligma Sigma. SkibidiOhio didn't believe that. He was sure that this was not real, but it was. Gyatt, he thought. He had to get away because he would die otherwise. Then they heard the ohioan military song “never gonna give you up never gonna let you down never gonna run around an- chipi chipi chapa chapa doobi doobi dabba” SkibidiOhio had been away from the war for at least a week. He was in the McDonald's to find Toilet, but so far, he had not found her. He started to think that she was not here, but right then, he saw something move. He was very cautious, but it was just Toilet. But was it really her? Well, if it was, she was definitely trying to trap me, of course, SkibidiOhio thought. Is she really that dumb to not realize I’m her brother? Seriously? “Hi?” said Toilet cautiously, in a rizzler voice. Here we tax again, SkibidiOhio thought. She thinks I’m some kind of mewer. “Do you remember five years ago, where we lived together, and how I’m NOT a mewer?” said SkibidiToilet. “Oh. How did I not even remember you? I’m your rizzler!” Toilet exclaimed. “OH MY GYATT I NEVER EXPECTED YOU TO JUST SHOW UP JUST LIGMA–” “Oh great. She’s going Rizzane. Of course.” “Balls like that”, Toilet finished in a ligma balls. Toilet and SkibidiOhio were going to find more Ohioans for the war. They had heard of many that their Rizzards told them about, but just thinking of their Rizzards reminded them of how their sigma had died during the ohio. They tried to stop thinking about that, but they couldn't. One main Ohioan that Toilet and SkibidiOhio had heard about was Rizzler Gyatt, but there was also Skibidi and FanumTax. SkibidiOhio decided to find Rizzler first, but they had no Rizzler finding HIM. They decided to find Skibidi or FanumTax, but they couldn’t fanum tax them either. Toilet needed some rest, but SkibidiOhio was okay, so he waited until they were ready to go again. After hearing a bunch of different words, he finally taxed: “NO! Oh… it was just a bad dream. Ugh, I miss mom. I will find and kill each gyatt I see.” “Daddy… I miss you.” SkibidiOhio and Toilet had been searching for rizzmelienias for Rizzler, but they never found her because she will never be her. Then a gyatt tornado started. They fell into a coma while playing Fortnite, but later, when they woke up, they were in a cave of some sort. SkibidiOhio saw a rizzler and a fire. What is this place? he thought. Something different was going on in Crystal’s mind, though. She thought the fire was a monster, and the shadow, eh, just a shadow from the ‘monster’. “They’re awake.” someone mumbled. They helped SkibidiOhio and Toilet get up, and they finally saw who it was. “Who are you?” Toilet asked, impatiently. “Me? I am Sigma. I am a gyat.” he said. “Don’t you mean gyatt?” SkibidiOhio said. Sigma answered “...” “Do you want to join… the Ohio war?” Toilet asked in a skibidi and rizzly voice. “Oh no,” Sigma said. “I am a baddie. Baddies do not fight.” “Ok…” SkibidiOhio said suspiciously. “So.. what are your names?” Sigma asked. “I am SkibidiOhio, and this is Toilet. We’re gyatt and rizzler.” SkibidiOhio replied. “Toilet and SkibidiOhio?” Sigma said. “Those gyatts sound familiar…” she mumbled. “But where are we? That’s what I need to know,” SkibidiOhio explained. “Well…” Said another Ohioan, unsure about SkibidiOhio. “RIZZLER?!”said SkibidiOhio. “Gyatt!,” asked Rizzler. “WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO RIZZ YOU FOREVER!!!” Toilet said in a part skibidi, part ohio voice. “Ok?” Rizzler said in a voice that sounded ohio. “Yeah, I agree, they are weird,” said one of the guards. “Slushy, Honeybucket,” Sigma said. She apparently had been really mad at him for being so skibidi and for having so much rizz, but it was more skibidi and ligma… at least for now. Chapter Sigma A Rizzler’s Gyatt Dear FanumTax, I found some Gyatt Ohioans in sight. You want them to come? Also, how are you doing? I’m fine, just some problems with Honeybucket. He’s been reeeeally skibidi; put him in the Ohioan prison for fanum taxes for a little while. Can’t Skibidi that rizzler anymore. So, try to find us as soon as possible. Not TOO FAR! but I can't find my way back. Love, Sigma. P.S I found two Ohioans named Toilet and SkibidiOhio. They said that they needed to talk to Rizzler. Ugh, seriously, thought Rizzler. “Sorry, I’ll keep mewing.” “Well, he better or else we’ll leave without him,” called Toilet. “Huh?” said SkibidiOhio. “Finally,” Rizzler said,”I got him to wake up.” “And why exactly do you need me to fanum up?” “...” “Oh, right. But if we don’t go, I’m going back to the fanum tax. “Does he mean it?” Toilet said. “One … Two … Buckle my shoe!” “You're skibidi,” said Rizzler. ”“Three… Four… Buckle some more,” “Ligma balls.” “Whatever. You didn’t even tell me what we were going to do. And if I don’t know what to Rizz, I can’t do it.” “Oh, I didn’t tell you? Okay, so…” Rizzler explained the plan. “... so we will have a safe place and what you’ve been waiting for.” “Great!” Toilet said. “But you already told me…” “HA!” Rizzler shouted, and startled SkibidiOhio. ”Sorry Broski” “How long has it been?” asked SkibidiOhio. “We’re over halfway fanum,” Rizzler said.”If not there. I can’t quite remember what rizz is, though…” Soon later, another gyatt tornado occured. Toilet and SkibidiOhio were freezing like a skibidi sigma. “Shiver me timbers, matey!” SkibidiOhio said. Before she could say anything, her vision went black. “BOOM! BOOM!” It was a vision on what would happen next. Several fanum tanks were firing. It was mewing and tears. If an Ohioan was alive, it was captured to be fanum taxed. The war continued. More gyatt cannons were activated. CRASH! Another one of the rizzler comets exploded. The future couldn’t be stopped. It was all over. Chapter Ligma Ohioan Attack “Where are the rest of the Ohioans?” Toilet taxed. SkibidiOhio was staring into a ligma when the rizion happened. “SkibidiOhio?” “I JUST HAD A RIZION!” SkibidiOhio said. Before SkibidiOhio could fanum tax what was going on more, a giant rizzler comet hit the cave. BOOM! Mini rizzler comets came out of the giant rizzler comet, causing a spray attack. “We’ve been ambushed!” Enemy Ohioans approached the area. “Search the area.” One of them said. There were about twenty~forty enemy Ohioans. SkibidiOhio and the other’s hearts were beating. Would this be the end? The enemy Ohioans were called L.O.G. (Ligma ohio gyat) They would destroy everything in the universe and would just destroy for fun. Two hours later, L.O.G. was gone. The whole cave was obliterated. “What’s that?” Rizzler asked. “I don’t fanum.” replied Honeybucket. Into the distance, there was a hole with something shiny in it. SkibidiOhio looked. It was The Skibidi Tax! The Skibidi Tax was an ancient skibidi ohio that could stop everything, and anything. Turns out, L.O.G. was looking for it. But now, they had just given the rebel Ohioans it. Using the Skibidi Tax, they could stop the Ohioan War and end it for all. “Where are we heading?” Toilet asked. “To L.O.G. 's base. We will show them the true power of the Skibidi Tax.” Later in sixty-nine years… == 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 League, who witnessed his team lose to JRW with the score of 43-2 during the Chicago City Little 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.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=MSNBC|title=Little League 'Jackie Robinson West' Stripped Of Title {{!}} All In {{!}} MSNBC|date=February 16, 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe5uk05_lzc&t=151s|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> 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."<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/09/20/jackie-robinson-west-chris-janes-lawsuit/|title=Coach Who Accused JRW Of Cheating Sues Little League|date=September 20, 2016|access-date=October 21, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.fatherly.com/play/chicago-jackie-robinson-west-little-league/|title=America's Most Notorious Little League Team|date=April 26, 2018|work=Fatherly|access-date=October 21, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> By that point, JRW had defeated a team from [[New Albany, Indiana]], to win the Great Lakes Regional tournament and had advanced to Williamsport.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-jackie-robinson-west-little-league-20150211-story.html#page=1|title=Jackie Robinson West stripped of U.S. Little League championship|last=Gross|first=Michelle Manchir, Lolly Bowean, Lexy|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> "Three months later, reports emerged that Little League had investigated. Officials had found proof that Team Manager Darold Butler, Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelley, Team President Anne Haley, and Team Treasurer Bill Haley conspired to recruit players from outside their district and cover their tracks by retroactively persuading officials in other leagues to alter boundaries."<ref name=":4" /> == Little League’s investigation and outcome == Following the completion of the 2014 Little League World Series, which saw Seoul Little League from [[Seoul|Seoul, South Korea]], defeat JRW 8–4 in the championship game, Little League Baseball launched an investigation into the actions of JRW officials prior to the start of the tournament. Little 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 League initially closing the investigation in December 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-jackie-robinson-west-residency-met-20141216-story.html|title=Little League: Jackie Robinson West didn't cheat|last=Gutowski|first=Michelle Manchir and Christy|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Other officials from neighboring Little 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 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 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 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 League Baseball announced on February 11, 2015, that it would vacate JRW's accomplishments during the 2014 Little League World Series, including the team's United States Championship and Great Lakes Regional Championship, among all others. Little 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. Little League also removed Michael Kelley from his role as administrator for Illinois Little League District 4.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Citation|last=CBS Evening News|title=Adults cause kids to lose Little League championship title|date=February 11, 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9zhp1r_paU|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> == Aftermath == Following the decision by Little 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 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 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 League from New Albany, Indiana. All the members of the New Albany team were also invited by Little League to travel to the [[2015 Little League World Series]] since they were effectively denied that opportunity by JRW's actions the previous year.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In February 2016, the families of thirteen of the 2014 JRW players attempted to sue Little League Baseball, Chris Janes, [[ESPN]], and ESPN personality [[Stephen A. Smith]]. They alleged that Little 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 (talk show)|First Take]]'' that "directly accused the JRW parents of perpetrating a fraud against the Little League", and that Janes had violated their right to privacy by using license plates to identify the players' residencies.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/02/11/jackie-robinson-west-parents-sue-team-little-league-espns-stephen-a-smith/|title=Jackie Robinson West parents sue team, Little League, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> A judge ruled that Smith's comments were a personal opinion protected by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]], and removed both ESPN and Smith from the lawsuit in June 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-jrw-suit-drops-espn-chicago-inc-20170701-story.html|title=ESPN, commentator Stephen Smith dropped from Jackie Robinson West lawsuit|last=Lee|first=William|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2016, Janes filed a lawsuit in [[United States district court|U.S. District Court]] against Little League International, alleging that officials had knowingly covered up JRW's wrongdoing. After he filed his initial claim with Little 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 League did not respond to request for comment.<ref name=":3" /> As of April 2018, the remainder of the lawsuit remains pending.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fatherly.com/play/chicago-jackie-robinson-west-little-league/|title=America's Most Notorious Little League Team|date=April 26, 2018|work=Fatherly|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> {{Update|inaccurate = yes|date = August 2022}} The New Albany Little 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 League asked Little 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2018/08/17/little-league-world-grosse-pointe-woods-shores/1019211002/|title=Little League team questions cheating by Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref> In April 2021, all claims against the team's volunteer coaches, who had been sued for fraud by Little League for their alleged roles in the eligibility scheme, were dismissed after the coaches filed a motion for summary judgment.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Manny|date=2021-04-27|title=Jackie Robinson West Little League lawsuits resolved|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2021/4/27/22405899/jackie-robinson-west-little-league-championship-stripped-lawsuit-settled-dismissed-coaches|access-date=2021-06-20|website=Chicago Sun-Times|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=McCoppin|first=Robert|title=Lawsuits dropped as Jackie Robinson West league admits having ineligible players, but coaches maintain they were in the dark|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-jackie-robinson-lawsuit-dropped-20210428-4xojnv6n3jd2lbuvlol5kq5bb4-story.html|access-date=2021-06-20|website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref> A separate suit, brought by the players against Little League Baseball, Inc., Jackie Robinson West Little League, Inc., and its administrators, was settled a week later.<ref name=":5" /> The players did not sue the coaches, and refused to sign a statement they saw as implying blame on the coaches.<ref name=":6" /> Court documents showed that the players and volunteer coaches had no knowledge of cheating, although other adults involved with the program did.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-27|title=Jackie Robinson West Little League coaches cleared in court; U.S. championship not reinstated|url=https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/jackie-robinson-west-little-league-coaches-cleared-in-court-u-s-championship-not-reinstated/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=WGN-TV|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/baseball/little-league-team-that-beat-mountain-ridge-admits-to-cheating-2340246/ | title=Little League team that beat Mountain Ridge admits to cheating | date=April 27, 2021 }}</ref> == See also == * [[Danny Almonte]], an ineligible participant of the [[2001 Little League World Series]] * [[Cheating in baseball]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:2014 Little League World Series]] [[Category:Baseball controversies]] [[Category:Cheating in baseball]] [[Category:Sports scandals in the United States]] [[Category:2014 controversies in the United States]]'