The sports world was rocked yesterday by yet another scandal. This time it was not yet another star athlete caught taking performance enhancing drugs, abusing their spouse, or driving while intoxicated. The scandal du jour centered on a Little League team, a Cinderella story might I add of 2014, being stripped of their title due to cheating.
According to news reports, the Jackie Robinson West team from the Chicago area had falsified the boundaries which govern where a team can seek out its players. By expanding the allowable area by which they could seek out players, this team was able to gain an advantage over other teams in the area, thus being able to field players who were in fact completely ineligible to play on their baseball team. As a result of breaking the rules, the team was stripped of their Little League title with that title now being given to the runner-up.
Now the Jackie Robinson West baseball team last year became the darlings and feel good story of the Little League circuit, even garnering national attention. The heartwarming stories seemed to flow non-stop as this team seemed to continually beat all the odds stacked against them to reach the pinnacle of youth baseball, eventually losing to a team from South Korea in the Little League World Series.
Allegations of potential racism have been declared by some with others simply wondering what all the fuss is about – just let the kids play ball for goodness sake has been the response by many. Venisa Green, a mother of one of the boys on the Jackie Robinson West team has stated, “It is amazing to me that whenever African-Americans exceed the expectations, there is always going to be fault that is found in what we do. Little League says that they teach character and they teach courage. Well, this isn’t an act of courage, and this sure isn’t an act of character.”
There is one element of this mother’s statement that is quite striking when we take into account what has taken place and that is the matter of character. In this case, what is evident is a lack of character and courage on the part of the leadership and I might add the parents of the children involved in this team and with society in general. Let me explain.
The reason for the removal of the title of champion from this baseball team was due to the moving of boundaries. These boundaries existed for a purpose. Abiding by those boundaries meant searching for talent with those community or communities that exist within those set borders. The boundaries were not meant to punish someone simply on the basis of where they lived. Conversely, those restrictions and rules provided a means for the Little League to establish a common set of guidelines. In the case of the Jackie Robinson West team, their leaders made the conscious decision to push the boundaries, in essence disobeying the rules, ultimately negatively impacting the team as a whole. We will never know if this team from the Chicago area would have experienced the same level of success if they had sought out talent from within the established boundaries. The bottom line is rules were broken and a consequence ensued due to a lack of character and courage on the part of those who assumed the leadership role of this team. I might also add that all parents involved are equally responsible for this issue and the unfortunate result.
So what does this tell us about our society and humanity in general? What we have here is yet another example of sinful behavior, the desire to move past the boundaries. Ms. Green rightly noted this is an issue of character and courage. It takes great courage and character to be obedient to established rules in all aspects of life. We find in Scripture time and again the reality that those who love God will keep His commandments. Those who keep God’s commands are noted as being of great character. They are people who recognized the importance of boundaries. The commandments provided by God in Scripture are our boundaries for life as they define what is right and wrong behavior in the eyes of God. Go outside those fence posts and trouble always ensues as you have now moved outside the will of God and His desire for His creation to be holy as He is holy.
In what appears to be the pursuit of glory wrapped under the cloak of “giving some boys a chance”, necessary boundaries were disobeyed and as a result, trouble has ensued in a South Chicago community. A lack of character and courage on the part of team leaders and parents has created a debacle in the lives of these young men. What is more disheartening, at least from the initial responses being reported from parents and even community leaders such as pastors is the lack of noting that rules were broken to gain an advantage. If the experience of Little League is to build character and courage in the lives of young men, would it not behoove the community to recognize that rules were indeed broken, to admit the wrongdoing, and to commit to an attitude of repentance, thus addressing the issue that caused their team to be stripped of its title? Instead we see misplaced anger at those who are merely attempting to ensure rules are obeyed. What message does that send the young men of this struggling South Chicago community? Not a good one I will submit.
As a parent, I am committed to helping my daughter succeed in life. I have to often remind myself that in my zeal to help my daughter be successful, I have to ensure I do not push boundaries to help her move towards bigger and better things in life. I cannot shift the goalposts even in the slightest. Doing so does not teach character and courage nor does it teach my child godly behavior. By stretching boundaries, parents are overtly telling their kids that rules are only to be obeyed when you feel like it or when they do not impede the path to personal glory. In fact, going that route reflects the same attitude and sin that tricked Adam and Eve way back in the Garden – you can become like God which is of course the sin of pride.
The lesson that should be learned from all this is God has provided rules for our benefit. Even rules such as the boundaries by which a youth baseball team can recruit for its players are rules provided for the benefit of those participating in that sport. Speed limit rules are provided for the safety of those traveling on the roads. When we break rules, harm ensues. When we place ourselves above the rules, we are being sinful. Furthermore, when we fail to see the breaking of rules as wrong behavior, we are being stiff-necked and stubborn, reflecting the deep-seated root of pride and rebellion that has taken hold of our life.
If that is a problem you are having in life and we all have this issue more often that we would like to admit, do not be angry at the rules or those who made the rules. Do not thumb your nose at God as if you know better than He does as to what is right and what is wrong. Instead, get down on your knees in repentance and ask God through the Holy Spirit to dig up that root of pride and rebellion in your life. If you are a parent, instruct your children in the ways of God and help them to understand that rules are for their benefit. Remind them always that loving God means being an obedient child of God and demonstrate that behavior in your own life in all you say and do to the glory of God.