Last year’s Little League World Series was one for the ages with teams such as a Philadelphia team with Mo’ne Davis and the Jackie Robinson team from Chicago. The Jackie Robinson team was from just outside of Chicago and named after the first black baseball player to play in the MLB ever. Jackie Robinson’s story of making it to the big leagues is a great one and still remains a fixture in American culture today. Every team in baseball has retired his famous number, 42. The Jackie Robinson Little League team has a story shockingly close story to the actual Jackie Robinson story, just without all the violence.

The Chicago team was the first all-black team to EVER play in the LLWS and in a sport that attracts very few black players they were an instant fan favorite. Almost everyone jumped on the bandwagon after they beat the favorite from Las Vegas 7-5 to win the LLWS championship.

After the big win people came from everywhere to cheer on the fan favorites. Chicago even held a parade for the Little League champions, a rare event in Chicago since there has only been one major league championship in the last 90 years in a town, even though Chicago has two professional baseball teams. The Chicago team was even invited to the White House to spend a day with President Obama.

Now, long after the LLWS ended, the team who Chicago beat to become the American champs is demanding their title be stripped. The head coach of the Las Vegas team is saying that the Jackie Robison team cheated to get their players, and they may be right. Vegas is claiming that the Jackie Robinson team expanded the area from where they could take players to get better ones. If the Chicago team did cheat the kids had nothing to do with it and will still be punished. The head coaches of the both teams have turned a feel good story into one of jealousy and greed.

Remember when Little League was about the kids? Me neither.