The real victims of the JRW scandal

It is clear that the adults surrounding the JRW Little League Team cheated. The coaches, league officials, and the parents of those kids who lived outside the designated areas knowingly cheated. And the consequence of getting caught is that the team was forced to give up their title.

Yet, the result of this sad affair has been that those surrounding the team and public officials have either turned this incident into a racial issue or have merely spun this into a situation where the kids and their parents have been made into victims that we should all be sympathetic to.

But I'm saving my sympathies for the true victims of this whole affair - the team from Las Vegas. They were the true victims who left the playing field in tears after having their championship dreams crushed.

I feel bad for them and their parents who had to console those heartbroken kids for weeks.

They were robbed of the chance to experience the jubilation of reaching their ultimate goals. They were robbed of the experience of the hero's parades when they returned home. They didn't get to bask in the glow of winning and experience the adulation of their friends, family and city.

They didn't get to go to Disney World, or have the high-profile pro athletes fawn over them. No donations to their team or signed jerseys or any of the accolades they deserved. They didn't get to experience the honor of a trip to the White House to meet the President.

So now, months after the last out of the game, the kids from Las Vegas have been awarded their championship, and have been told that they were winners. But they will never be able to get back what was stolen from them. They get all of my sympathies.

Ken Glassman

Arlington Heights