Banner can’t hide the truth about Little League World Series

It arrived in a large envelope. No note of congratulations. No suggestions on where to display it. No instructions on protocol.

No smiley face stickies.

Nothing.

Just one implied demand: Hang the darn thing.

Little League International lost its way long ago, succumbing to the temptation that tens of millions of dollars in TV revenue provide annually, forgetting that at its core should not be a sense of capitalistic greed but rather promoting and teaching those values defined by the corporation’s pledge.

Specifically, the part about fair play.

The banner that was shipped to Mountain Ridge this week is annually bestowed upon the U.S. champion of the Little League World Series, a title that in February was stripped from Jackie Robinson West on the South Side of Chicago for violating rules and rewriting boundaries.

Mountain Ridge, the first team from Nevada to qualify for a Little League World Series, was then awarded the U.S. title.

It is in name only, neither won on the field nor deserved off it.

As local politicians and other officials predictably stuck out their chests and offered suggestions as to where the banner should be displayed, they, much like Little League, disregarded the most significant part of this story: There is a critical life lesson not being taught to those young minds who annually dream of playing at majestic, lush, Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa.

If it truly wanted to have the impact such a moment affords, Little League would officially vacate last year’s U.S. champion.

No name.

No winner.

No banner.

Then, for decades to come and beyond, each time a player or parent or fan read the names of champions on the grounds in Williamsport and saw the word “VACANT” next to 2014, they could learn the story behind Jackie Robinson West, behind one of several cheating scandals that has over the years rocked the Little League World Series, about how some adults in charge of youth sports again tried to scheme their way to a championship.

Sadly, it’s not Little League’s style to do the right thing in these matters. It just passes the title onto the next team.

“It’s a big business, even at this age,” said Ashton Cave, the local firefighter and Little League manager who led Mountain Ridge to its historic run. “That’s the bottom line. People in my position can have an opinion, but it’s going to carry minimal influence. I let them know my feelings about it. If you don’t stop and change how these sorts of things are handled, how can you hope to teach those life lessons to all the kids and parents? There is a story behind this banner, and it needs to be told. And if we are going to hang it somewhere, our community and those who come to Las Vegas and see it need to hear that story.

“Maybe the next Mountain Ridge (All-Star team) gets back there and wins the whole thing this summer and rightfully earns the title of U.S. champion. I hope it does. But a banner doesn’t cure the ultimate problem that people continue to try to find loopholes in the system and cheat. This whole thing left a nasty taste in my mouth. One thing I learned throughout the process is that you can only control the environment that you’re directly involved with. Your team. Your station. Your crew. Help each other. Do the right thing. And then hope people at the top change for the better.”

This a good man caught in a bad position, because Cave understands the reality of sports.

Mountain Ridge lost the U.S. championship game to Jackie Robinson West 7-5, and it’s impossible to predict whether the team from Las Vegas would have ultimately claimed the title had those from Chicago not qualified and another opponent stood in the way.

You can say Mountain Ridge would have because you can’t prove it.

Nobody knows.

We only know this: It lost the game.

The New England Patriots aren’t waking up today and handing the Seattle Seahawks their Super Bowl trophy or forfeiting their AFC championship to the Indianapolis Colts because Tom Brady had footballs deflated. The New York Yankees aren’t sending that 2009 World Series title to the Philadelphia Phillies because Alex Rodriguez was juiced to the gills. When they vacated those seven Tour de France crowns from the despicable liar and cheat who is Lance Armstrong, they didn’t name new winners.

Mountain Ridge did things the right way. Cave was the personification of honor and high moral standards. His players enjoyed the experience and their sudden fame as much as anyone else in Williamsport. They were humble in victory and gracious in defeat, good kids who embraced the moment in the best possible manner.

The team received a key to the city upon its return, was honored with a parade and in October presented with an 8 feet by 12 feet recognition wall at its home park.

It was all deserved, a fitting tribute to a magnificent story.

But the banner that arrived this week and reportedly will be officially presented to Mountain Ridge on July 6, to hang somewhere in the city where locals and victors alike can view it, has no reasonable place here.

If it is indeed hung, and there is no way those politicians and officials sticking out their chests won’t do so, it should be accompanied with a passage that tells the real story of the 2014 U.S. championship at the Little League World Series.

Educate the masses on how a team cheated its way to being stripped of a title.

Let the banner stand not as a celebration of Mountain Ridge being awarded instead of actually winning a championship, but rather as a symbol of what happens when corrupt adults squirm their way into a child’s game.

When the innocence of Little League, what little appears left, is again ruined by those whose job it is to protect children, not exploit them.

“I really don’t know how to handle this,” Cave said. “It’s time to bury this hatchet and move on. You know where I stand on this, but mine is just one opinion that doesn’t hold the weight of those in charge.”

A good man caught in a bad position.

He will play the part of dedicated soldier. He will smile for the cameras and say all the right things when the banner is presented and hung. He is classy that way.

But he knows reality. They lost the game.

And the only correct thing would be to vacate the championship.

That’s the only message worth sending, the one lesson that should be taught for generations of Little Leaguers to come.

And no banner, regardless of where it hangs, is going to hide that truth.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on KRLV 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.