Tulsa National finished in third place at the Little League World Series over the summer. However, the Oklahoma-based softball program allegedly fielded an illegal roster (on purpose) while Little League turned a blind eye to the violations.
This latest eligibility scandal could completely invalidate the results of this year’s tournament if the governing body decides to open a full investigation. At this time, that does not seem likely.
Little League has ignored multiple complaints and protests regarding Tulsa National over the last 30+ days. And new evidence seems to prove this is a common theme within the organization.
Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI has been all over this story from the jump. Her latest update shines even brighter light on how Little League failed to follow its own procedure.
What are the allegations against Tulsa National?
Tulsa National won the Southwest Regional tournament to advance to the Little League World Series of Softball in Greenville. It ultimately finished in third place after a loss to the eventual champions in the semifinals.
Complaints were raised against the Oklahoma program before it even arrived to the World Series, which likely led to a fight between parents once they got to South Carolina. All 10 players on the roster are accused of eligibility violations.
Key issues of the complaints focused on three specific violations:
- Violation of Regulation IV(g) and Tournament Rule 3: One or more players participated in fewer than eight regular-season games, which failed to meet the eligibility requirement.
- Violation of Regulation V (Selection of Players): The team was formed primarily from a non-Little League program, with at least seven rostered players from the same external organization.
- Violation of Regulation II(a): One or more players did not reside or attend a physical school within the league’s approved boundaries.
Formal protests against Tulsa National were filed by multiple opponents, most notably Texas West and Texas East. Those protests were not properly acted upon by Little League authorities. They were ignored.
This scandal bears a striking resemblance to what happened with Jackie Robinson West on the baseball side of things in 2014 so I would imagine the officials are choosing to remain ignorant to the alleged behavior of Tulsa National to avoid a similar outcome. Regardless of the reason, Little League has yet to properly enforce its own rules.
The very same officials who are involved with this ongoing controversy also have a history of this kind of behavior. There is a track record of past failures attached to their names.
Little League officials were caught on an audio recording.
New audio files reveal a conversation between Blaine Whitmire and Lauren Richter. Whitmire is the Southwest Region director. Richter is the president of Pottawattamie County Little League in Oklahoma.
“Whether it’s this scandal or another scandal, this happens every year,” Whitmire says to Richter. “There’s no way you can clean up every scandal. There’s no way. Every major organization is going to have accusations of cheating. Do you know why? Because parents aren’t satisfied that their kids just lost in a tournament. They want to go and try to get that team eliminated. Usually, these scandals involve the teams that are very good and the teams that are beating everybody else.”
If that was not bad enough, Whitmire admits that he did not submit damning evidence of wrongdoing by Tulsa National to the Little League Tournament Committee. He refers to the social media posts that prove the illegal use of an out-of-boundary player as “hearsay.”
“I’m just the facilitator of the information that comes in,” Whitmire says on the recording. “I’m not gonna try and keep information from the tournament committee members, I’m gonna provide everything that’s provided to me.
“Now, it has to be factual evidence. I’m not going to provide them with hearsay. I’m gonna provide them with an internet post that says, ‘Congratulations to (player’s name redacted), one of our own.’ That’s not good enough. That’s not evidence.”
On the contrary, I think a school that publicly posts about a student as “one of its own” would prove that the aforementioned student is enrolled at the aforementioned school. And that school was out of boundary for Tulsa National, which would make the player ineligible.
The math does not add up.
Whitmire openly admitted to Richter that Tulsa National was not investigated properly.
“If you’re gonna go on social media posts for evidence, that’s not enough,” he said. “Every circumstance is different.”
Is it? I don’t think so…
Little League investigated Jackie Robinson West on public congratulations for players who lived outside of the pre-established boundary. How is the public congratulations on social media any different? It’s not.
The organization cannot afford another scandal of this caliber. Thus, it seems to me like the powers that be are intentionally moving the goalposts to avoid a proper investigation. Ignorance is bliss.
Oklahoma allegedly played on a fraudulent tournament affidavit.
To make matters worse, the Southwest Region director says on the call with Richter that all of the eligibility documents were properly verified. They were reviewed by the tournament committee, District Administrator Mindy Abbott and Whitmire himself.
Softball On SI reports otherwise. Angus-Coombs obtained what appears to be a fraudulent tournament affidavit. It was not signed by the league president, player agent or manager. It does not provide any eligibility information on which to verify.
And, just to go even one step further, Little League softball programs are required to field a roster of 12 players. They must receive an exemption to play with less than 12.
Tulsa National was allowed to play with only 10 players even though the coach allegedly cut two players who could’ve filled out the roster. Softball On SI received text messages from parents of the players who were cut by the team, which confirms the request for exemption was not necessary in the first place.
Its a mess.
All of the evidence suggests that Tulsa National should be punished for the illegal use of ineligible players. The Southwest Region representatives appear to be in direct violation of the rules as they are written. Little League is choosing not to do anything about it.