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Little League Officials Downplay Black Player's Teammates Putting Cotton In His Hair During Live Broadcast
Over the weekend, an incident occurred on a live broadcast of a Little League Classic game that aired on ESPN.
On the broadcast, a team of mostly-White children and coaches is seen taking some of their downtime and stuffing a Black child teammates' hair with cotton.
Little League issued a statement after the video began to go viral online. They explained the behavior by saying the entire team was given stuffed animals and began to play with the cotton inside.
In their statement they said:
“As only one player appeared on the broadcast, Little League International understands that the actions shown could be perceived as racially insensitive."
"We have spoken with the player’s mother and the coaches, who have assured us that there was no ill-intent behind the action shown during the broadcast."
Social media was not as quick to forgive, however.
\u201cI guess this is how @LittleLeague is reaching out to get more African American kids to play baseball. By having white kids stuff cotton into their hair. \n\nNo racial insensitivity here. Awesome. \n\n@TheKonfident1 #LLWS\u201d— Russ (@Russ) 1661204644
\u201cI cannot believe I just watched that in 2022\u201d— Smitty (@Smitty) 1661133997
Others asked where the adults were in this situation, noting there seem to be adults in the shot aiding the process.
\u201cThis is outrageous! Teammates of a Black Little League World Series player stuffed the player's hair with COTTON on national television. His teammates may have meant no \u201cill intent,\u201d but where were the coaches and parents to stop these inappropriate actions?!\u201d— Ben Crump (@Ben Crump) 1661285284
\u201c@BullCityHeel Where were the coaches? Why did the boys feel it was okay to humiliate this Black child? Did these kids pick up vibes from their coaches that they felt comfortable doing this. BLACK folks raising their kids in this type of environment need to protect their kids. I\u2019m seeing Red!\u201d— Smitty (@Smitty) 1661133997
\u201c@karlravechespn Why did you say \u201cboys will be boys\u201d as the COACH and players stuffed cotton onto the Black teammates head/hair? Is this the type of blatant racism you and your @espn @LittleLeague are okay with? What an absolute failure by you all to protect him. A disgrace.\u201d— Karl Ravech (@Karl Ravech) 1661202284
\u201c@skbird50 @BullCityHeel The "adults" were participating. \n\nLook at the video again. The person applying cotton balls on the right was wearing an access badge. His own coach participated in publicly humiliating him at the Little League World Series. \n\nAND it was premeditated - who brings a bag of cotton?\u201d— Smitty (@Smitty) 1661133997
Some people provided context on why this incident was so wrong.
\u201cNo matter how the \ud83e\udd2c you try to frame it, cotton in any form of humor is a no-no. It\u2019s as bad as blackface. Just don\u2019t do it. https://t.co/V0MdpZprt7\u201d— O.J. Spivey (@O.J. Spivey) 1661295400
\u201cThe world championships for little league really thought it was cute to air a bunch of white boys laughing and stuffing a black boys hair with cotton was funny to air? This country hasn\u2019t grown much in over 50+ years\u201d— \ud83d\udd2e \ud835\udd6d\ud835\udd97\ud835\udd9a\ud835\udd8f\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd86 \ud83e\udd87 (@\ud83d\udd2e \ud835\udd6d\ud835\udd97\ud835\udd9a\ud835\udd8f\ud835\udd8e\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd86 \ud83e\udd87) 1661225948
Others asked a good question, after the Little League released its statement.
\u201c@LittleLeague what was the "intent"? \n\nWhat LEGITIMATE reason could you have for covering a Black child in cotton? #littleleagueworldseries\u201d— Bring Home BG (@Bring Home BG) 1661282212
\u201c@SoonersDrip @BullCityHeel Oh really? Well just what was the intention if not to humiliate this child. I see he has no one in power standing up for him! The response is insulting.\u201d— Smitty (@Smitty) 1661133997
Finally, someone pointed out the whole broadcast was sort of...off.
\u201cThe whole vibe of that little league MLB game was weird, starting with George W Bush, then the kid who ran down cashiers for "having a bad job", then putting cotton in a black kid's hair\u201d— \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc24\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1b\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a \ud83e\udd43 (@\ud835\udc13\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc24\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1b\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a \ud83e\udd43) 1661209545
People are still looking for answers from Little League.
Whether they get any is unknown at this time.