We've heard the phrases before: "the word of the law," and, "the spirit of the law." The inference is that what is not necessarily conveyed in word should be interpreted in spirit, or what the literal word was intended to mean. The same premise also holds true for rules as well as for laws. Sadly, it appears that in Connecticut's Elm City, the youth baseball league known as: "Liga Juvenil de Baseball de New Haven" (LJB), nobody ever got that memo, in any language.

We've also heard all the trendy, feel-good, liberal, politically correct fluff that has deteriorated and diminished our kids and their development as strong, functioning adults by all the erroneous obsession with self-esteem. Self-esteem in any individual is indeed important, but as with most other matters, it needs to be moderated as well. Teachers refusing to mark papers with red ink, schools removing grades from scholastic reporting systems and documents, and even youth sports leagues banning scores have all been fuel to this fire, if not unintended consequences of it. And among those who criticized these inane and detrimental brainstorms, I have unabashedly been one of the brashest, if not the loudest.

So you can well imagine my knee-jerk response to first hearing about little 10-year old Jericho Scott in this most recent debacle in New Haven. Scott has gained national media news attention and even talking head attention from the various national pundits, liberal as well as conservative, on both TV and radio. Scott was being "punished," we were told, by being banned from pitching because he was actually too good, and the kids on opposing teams were not only losing too much, but were both too angry and too scared to face him when they were up at bat. "Here we go again!" I thought. (I actually first heard the story on Rush Limbaugh's show.) But while some issues are right and left, some are right and wrong. After further investigation, my eyes saw something different than what my knee jerked to, and as a result, I not only have to break ranks with my fellow conservatives on this subject, but I even need to break ranks with myself, and my usual stance on such similar controversies as well.

Kudos to sports columnist, Dave Solomon, for shedding more light on this issue in his August 27th column, "No One Is Winning This Blame Game," in the New Haven Register. The same edition also led off with the headline, "Fun & Games; Kids Enjoy Playing When Jericho Isn't Pitching, Officials Say." For the record, New Haven's metropolitan newspaper typically seems to often carry similar such mundane, insignificant and irrelevant headlines as most of the rest of the mainstream press carries headlines of much more substantive news and current events, but in this case, the paper's headline also reflects, by either more savvy editorial judgment, or by fortuitous coincidence, the significant weight this story has carried nationwide.

But despite that nationwide coverage and commentary, I have heard or read less about, as Solomon revealed in his objectively illuminating column, that Jericho Scott also plays for an "all star" team in the city's Dom Aitro league, and was put onto his new team in the LJB, which is of a more developmental origin, in mid-season. That makes about as much sense as recruiting players from either the Yankees or the Red Sox (How's that for diplomacy?) and having them play against these kids midway through a season. It's the same scenario here, albeit on a smaller scale. These kids threatened to walk off the field, not out of bad sportsmanship, or not bucking up to adversity, but because they were scared, and they should have been scared.

In Jericho's defense, his high-speed pitching was reportedly always accurate and he never hit anyone with the ball. I once caught a ball in the forehead (as opposed to in my hand) when I was nine years old, and now, decades later, the bump is still there, as well as the vivid memory. Being hit with a speeding ball is not a requirement to be rightfully scared of one. Jericho Scott, through no fault of his own, was literally "out of his league."

And I blame his coach, and the league officials for that. The LJB reportedly has few formally written rules, so the coach, at least on paper, did nothing wrong by playing Jericho. But common sense and common decency should have directed his decision over a vicarious unquenchable thirst to win at all costs-in a league for little kids! Growing up as a kid, my father always encouraged me to participate in organized sports, but he was never really enthralled by them. He often regaled me with his stories of his growing up as an urban street kid and playing "sandlot ball," just with his friends, spontaneously, with whatever resources they had to play or even improvise with at that time, and without the need, or the desire for adult supervision and intrusion. Now I see why. My Dad, who also played semi-pro football and is no shrinking violet by any means, always emphasized tough competition, but not nearly as much as he did good sportsmanship. Maybe the LJB should now begin implementing some more written rules, and sportsmanship should be on page 1.

As for the coach, Wilfred Vitro, he's history. Apparently, he did violate one of the league's actually formal directives by not taking Jericho off the mound to give both he and his opponents a break. And the nature of Vidro's demise as a coach in the LJB only further accentuated his arrogance. He was only fired by the league when he refused the opportunity to resign. As for some of the kids, they have now been scrambled around throughout the league since all the hoopla. But this is all a little too little, and much too late.

Now, lawsuits are involved, press conferences convened, T-shirts have been made up, written propaganda dispersed, angry parents and hired lawyers are now involved in the mix, and even accusations of angry and vulgar threats being made by parents within earshot of the kids. Jericho's parents, and another player's parents have already consulted prominent civil rights attorney John Williams, and are threatening to sue for the alleged suffering of their kids.

All this havoc is utterly needless, and again reminds us, not just of the ugly image of the quintessential "Little League Parent," but also of another ugly image that is less discussed, "The Little League Coach." (In this context, I use the term, "Little League" strictly as a hypothetical and illustrative phrase and not to specifically cite or accuse the actual organization known by that name.) Even in this league, organized by adults, it still seems that the kids were doing just fine, until the adults butted in and screwed everything up. I believe in competition. I also believe in red ink, letter grades on report cards and scores in youth athletic events. But lines were crossed here that should never have been crossed. As for Jericho's parents, perhaps they could or should have intervened, recognizing that this mid-season move was wrong and called the coach on it. Then again, whose idea actually was it to place Jericho on this new team, in a league of known lesser ability? And more importantly, how did Jericho feel about the move, and in the end, what lesson was he taught from this fiasco that was spurned by adults who should have all known better? I cannot speak intelligently for the reasoning of Leroy and Nicole Scott, Jericho's parents, but emotions being what they are, and especially for one's own child, I also can't rule out my own speculation of loving parental pride, albeit possibly misplaced, and the instinct to defend and protect one's child when deemed to be unfairly targeted, regardless of the circumstances. Sadly, Mr. and Mrs. Scott might also well play a role in the unfair and crushing national media scrutiny that has been foisted upon this 10-year old kid who just wanted to play ball, even if their role was passive and/or benevolent in nature. While competition in athletics is important to the development of children, so is learning, fun, good sportsmanship, and above all, reasonable and prudent safety. It appears that too many of the adults, who should have been looking out for all of these kids, dropped the ball and consequently missed the mark in those last four crucial areas. At the very least, this whole matter seems very much askew in an era, roughly only 50 years after the advent of air conditioning, that we now send kids home, and possibly even ironically to non-air conditioned homes, because the weather is too hot and the school isn't air conditioned, or when in winter time, school sessions are cancelled before the first falling snowflake is even visible, that we knowingly and even intentionally pit young batters against high-speed pitchers of the same age, but of far greater, and even, possibly dangerous pitching ability, even despite the use of protective batting helmets. This issue is about far more than bruised egos in kids or adults. It's much more about broken bones and brain concussions in young, developing bodies that should be protected by supervising adults who are ideally more focused on the kids than themselves.

Contrary to popular belief, as rightfully dismissed by Dave Solomon, this issue is not one of more whiney elitists blubbering over self-esteem and stunting the development of kids by turning them into wimps. This is about adults acting like kids, and not allowing kids to enjoy their lives -as kids. In a developmental league intended for kids to learn a game, hone their skills, get some fresh air and exercise, and hopefully even pick up a few life lessons, perhaps this very sad saga will at least forge much needed reform and also bring about a more positive ending with the very goal that the league was originally formed for - learning, although in this case, probably more so for the adults.

After all, it's never too late for anyone to learn, not even adults. As long as we are now so open to learning, perhaps someone could also enlighten me as to why a youth baseball league in an American city, albeit, a "sanctuary city," has a Spanish name (Call me crazy, but I suspect errant adults again!). Unless I missed a memo, we still officially speak English in this country for the betterment of all citizens. Perhaps that may someday be the subject of another column, and at that time, we can all learn a little something else together. But for now, you kids in "Liga de Juveinil de Baseball de New Haven, " have fun, be safe, and play ball!

And as for you so-called "grown-ups," where applicable, try for once, to teach by example. And yes, sometimes that actually does mean to shut up, butt out, and mind your manners. It's their time now. You already had your turn. Grow up, and let them do the same.

Adios.

Doug Wrenn