Jackie Robinson West Little League Accused of Cheating on Residency

Did the U.S. Little League World Series champs cheat?

The hometown heroes of the Jackie Robinson West Little League, who captured hearts across Chicago and America as they stacked up stunning victories on their way to a U.S. Championship this summer, are being accused of violating Little League residency requirements.

Their lineup — an all-African-American team that inspired people across the country — may have been stacked with superstars from the south suburbs, reports Mark Konkol in an exclusive for DNAinfo Chicago on Tuesday.

The Evergreen Park Athletic Association filed an official complaint with Little League International, providing evidence that many of the team’s players did not live in the city of Chicago within the official boundaries for the Jackie Robinson West Little League. After requesting documentation from Jackie Robinson West, Little League International officials told DNAinfo they are satisfied the rules were followed — that the players live in Chicago and go to school in Chicago.

Yet several players were openly applauded by their south suburban communities: Congresswoman Robin Kelly gave a shoutout to Trey Hondras and Cameron Bufford, students at James McKinley Junior High in Dolton, on Facebook. Hondras now attends school in Homewood. The village of Lansing applauded its hometown hero, Ed Howard, a student at Memorial Junior High, while the village of Lynwood celebrated Eddie King, posting his name on the village hall sign: “Lynwood’s Eddie King.”

“Oh my goodness, we did not cheat. We did not recruit these guys,” Jackie Robinson West president Bill Haley told DNAinfo. “Nothing was done to put these kids together. We absolutely did not cheat.”

Patrick Wilson, vice president of operations and international tournament director for Little League International, said the league thoroughly investigated and considers the “matter closed.”

RELATED: Coach Who Claimed Jackie Robinson West Cheated Says He Has ‘No Regrets,’ via DNAinfo

Even before the championship game, as the exploits of the Jackie Robinson West players were being celebrated on ESPN, national network news programs, Sports Illustrated and at the White House, talk in local Little League circles focused on rumors that Jackie Robinson West was, in effect, a traveling team of superstar players and not a traditional Little League team made up of boys from the league’s defined boundaries.

Jackie Robinson West boundaries encompass some of the South Side’s toughest, most downtrodden neighborhoods, Morgan Park, Englewood, Washington Heights, a fact mentioned often in national news stories about the dream season.

Chris Janes, Evergreen Park’s Little League vice president, said the residency-rule violations are clear to him and other area Little Leaguers.

“I don’t have a single bad thing to say about any one of those kids,” said Janes, who who saw up close and personal how good the Jackie Robinson West ballplayers were: They beat E.P. 43-2 in a sectional playoff game. “They’re an extremely talented group, best Little League team I’ve ever seen. They just shouldn’t have been able to play together.”

Tuesday, in an interview with WBBM Newsradio after DNAinfo’s story broke, Janes said he thinks Jackie Robinson West should be stripped of its title.

“If the team’s comprised of players that shouldn’t have been on there in the first place, then absolutely,” he said. “Little League has very specific rules. Those rules need to be followed.”

MORE ON DNAinfo Chicago

» learn more about the residency issues, the league investigation and what could come next. Read Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Mark Konkol’s full, in-depth report on DNAinfo Chicago

» more coverage of Jackie Robinson West by DNAinfo Chicago

» read more Mark Konkol on “My Chicago”

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Tuesday’s reaction, via Facebook, to DNAinfo Chicago’s report:

Nikki Lynn Evitts to Oak Forest Patch: I don’t see this as a shocker, hell it’s been like that for YEARS. Play teams all season long only to compete against a stacked superstar team of kids you never played against till tournaments roll around. And my nephew’s travel team played against these guys....I didn’t understand how they were able to compete in little league and I assumed the rules changed cause I remember no travel play until little league was over. ... But to think they are the only ones who did this is silly. This has been going on for YEARS.

Scott Salvatore to Lemont Patch: It’s Little League and its not like they won the whole tournament let’s not taint it for them. They still won those games through skill the same way Lemont did in 2006. They should sweep this under the rug.

Marcus Bernath to Homewood-Flossmoor Patch: No shock my son who’s in Homewood baseball played against one of the boys. That’s travel baseball but don’t call it a chicago team

Sue Paskey to Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Patch: Haters gonna hate. Even if that means hating little kids. Shame on you. #StillLoveJRW

Nancy Oleksy to Oak Lawn Patch: Shouldn’t that have been checked out before they even played a game?

Jim Canfield to Evergreen Park Patch: Just like all those kids at EPHS are all from EP. The graduating class more than tripled since I was there 20 yrs ago in a town that hasn’t grown. Hmmmm.

David Nelson to Oak Lawn Patch: At least they didn’t take steroids.

Nicholas Amato to Lemont Patch: Really? Can’t people just leave a good story alone?

Damian DamePromo Williams to Evergreen Park Patch: Really EPAA? Now you don’t want the stories of our recruiting to come out. I love my little village, but this is asinine.

Bill Hannigan to Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Patch: Why now? They’re kids ... they played their asses off ... they gave us all something to cheer about this summer ... EP, give it a rest. Instead, why don’t you look into the racial profiling done by the police along 95th Street ... now that would be interesting to look into.

STATEMENT FROM LITTLE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

“Little League International is confident that the documentation provided to the organization from Jackie Robinson West Little League meets the residency regulations for the 2014 Little League Baseball tournament season. Little League International confirmed documentation at the beginning of the tournament play in June. In October, a neighboring league contacted Little League International with information with questions about players’ residency on the Jackie Robinson West team that participated in the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series. Little League again reviewed the Jackie Robinson West documents and required the league to provide further information on each player to confirm residency eligibility. Following this additional review, our initial determination that the Jackie Robinson West players meet eligibility requirements still stands. Little League considers the issue closed at this time.”