Chicago Loses Mind Over a Bunch of Cheating Scumbags

The news that Jackie Robinson West would be stripped of its Little League World Series National Championship has been met with outrage in Chicago. Neighborhoods and local press are screaming for a reversal. Jesse Jackson is taking the team to Disney World. The masterminds of the scandal have all lawyered up in preparation for a lawsuit over the title. The Blackhawks hosted the team in a private box last night. The local coach who first reported the infraction is receiving death threats on the hour. Being an election year, even the Mayor has lost his mind, buying these cheaters championship rings on the tax payer's dime.

What's lost in all of this is the obviousness of this outcome. Administrators at Jackie Robinson West knowingly recruited players - the best players - outside of what league rules allowed. While I'm sure a case will be made that this was perhaps unknown, or that jurisdictional lines may be blurred a bit in the city...the all star players that carried JRW were recruited players from outside the city of Chicago entirely. This is barely even a Chicago issue. They're from so far away, they might as well have recruited from another state. Or another country. Because this could not have been an accident.

There really isn't a grey area in this matter. This was not only something that had to be willfully done, but it's also something that of course would get caught. So why do it?

Because even without the title, they're getting away with it. JRW has cashed in since the title, with donations and partnerships rivaling the best programs in the country. All built on lies. JRW didn't win because of hard work, or because of good coaching. They won because they cheated. They cheated so they would gain money and recognition. That's not something to laud. That's not something to marvel over it's effect on the neighborhood. It's fraud, is what it is. Administration at JRW should go to jail (at this point, that's still in the realm of possibility - hence the lawyers). While public sentiment may still be on the side of JRW locally, you'd have to think that some of the larger investors in the program have a much different take on the situation (even if they're not saying so publicly yet).

At heart in the outrage for most, of course, is the children. Stripping these children of a title is undoubtedly hard on them. Some may not even understand it. Still, its a tough lesson to learn. However, it is an infinitely better lesson than the one they were originally taught. Think about it. A cover up this large is a lot more than just JRW administration. It involves the parents too. Parents that are also committing fraud by covering this up for so long. And to what end? A trophy for your kids? Is that the lesson you want to teach them? Break the rules at any cost and you will be rewarded? Where's the accountability?

There are more kids in this than the kids at JRW. There are the kids they played all year that were beat by a team of cheaters. There were national teams of children that were beat by JRW who lost their chance for glory because JRW cheated. The Las Vegas team that lost in national finals to JRW lost the most, as they earned the opportunity to play in the World Championships. The reward for their hard work? They didn't receive the national recognition that JRW did. Or visit the White House, like JRW did. No, their reward was losing to a bunch of cheating scumbags.

Spare me the children argument. Kids aren't hurt because of this outcome. They're hurt because their parents and coaches cheated. And that hurt reached a lot further than JRW.