FORT WORTH, Texas — Fossil Creek Little League (FCLL), a youth baseball organization in Fort Worth, reportedly had their team removed from the Texas West District 7 Little League Tournament without explanation from officials in June.
According to a Facebook post from Cyle Brossman, FCLL had entered two teams into the District 7 Tournament: Black and Gold.
FCLL Black defeated the Gold team 11-0 in the opening round and was slated to play University LL the following night of the tournament, the post reads.
The Facebook post also states that the Black team had just completed a clean sweep in the Jim Sundberg Invitational Tournament, which included an 11-2 win over University Little League, the defending District 7 champions.
And with this success came allegations of FCLL bringing in a "select" baseball team to play in these tournaments and make a run at the Little League World Series, the post states.
According to the Facebook post, on June 11, the head coach of the Black team Greg Harper participated in a conference call with representatives from Little League International Headquarters and the Southwest Region about these accusations.
On June 12, the team and its players were reportedly thoroughly vetted and cleared to play in the District 7 Tournament, the post reads.
WFAA obtained an email from Little League International that was addressed to FCLL President Derek Rush and it stated that they were made aware of questions to local officials about the eligibility of FCLL. However, after a review of documentation that is required for all competing players, it was decided that all was good and FCLL was cleared to participate in the tournament.
The email also included the following message:
"It should be noted that if any information is presented that challenges eligibility, the Tournament Committee reserves the right to take appropriate actions including but not limited to revocation of the league's tournament eligibility and forfeiture/s of games players in all divisions of play."
According to a statement from an FCLL official, on June 18, Rush received a phone call from the Director of League Development for LL International Dan Velte, asking him to remove the Black team from the District 7 Tournament voluntarily.
The FCLL official says that Velte told them if they did not remove the team, they would remove all FCLL teams from the tournament in all age groups.
Rush reportedly felt the pressure to make a decision as FCLL had several teams about to take the field. So, Rush decided to voluntarily remove the Black team.
Shortly after this decision was made, Rush reportedly tried to rescind the withdrawal. However, he was told it was too late and they had to move on.
According to the Facebook post from Brossman, the kids and their parents had not been made aware of what rules they violated. Numerous calls and emails have reportedly been sent by parents and officials to District 7, Southwest Region and Little League International Headquarters, but no responses have provided a clear response to the inquiry.
"A protest was filed with the Little League International Tournament Committee by another league participating in the Texas District 7 Tournament," Little League International told WFAA. "As the role of the Tournament Committee is to review situations that arise at all levels of the tournament and ensure Little League rules, regulations, and policies have been implemented, the Tournament Committee reviewed the information provided in the protest, and subsequently discussed it directly with the League President, after which the Fossil Creek Little League team in question voluntarily withdrew from the Tournament."
Since the team's removal and Brossman's Facebook post, there has been an uproar in the North Texas Little League community, pushing for answers as to why the boys were not allowed to play or why the league allegedly faced pressure to remove the team from the tournament.
"I am saddened for the 12 boys who worked hard the entire season for an opportunity to play in Williamsport," an FCLL official told WFAA. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that was taken from them by some ugly adults."
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