Judge Backs Little League's Removal of Tulsa Team
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- A Texas judge in the 414th District Court in McLennan County vacated a temporary restraining order on Tuesday afternoon, backing Little League Baseball's decision to remove Tulsa National from the Southwest Region Tournament and declare its previous game a forfeit.
- Tulsa National was removed after Little League ruled player O.G. ineligible because his father entered an incorrect birth year for O.G.'s sibling (K.G.), through whom O.G. had maintained eligibility — a basis initially granted by the Little League International Charter Committee on July 7.
- K.G. was registered as age 7 in the Challenger Division, an adaptive program for children with physical and intellectual challenges, but was actually 10 years old per the father's admission to a Little League official, disqualifying the sibling from the under-8 open enrollment provision.
- Mindy Abbott, Little League's Oklahoma district administrator, said in court documents that O.G.'s parents withdrew him from Tulsa National's tournament team before he participated in the Southwest Region tournament, and that the 13 teammates "did not enter the incorrect information."
- West Texas (Boerne Little League) secured the region's berth to next week's Little League Baseball World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, based on Monday's 4-1 victory over Louisiana; Tulsa had earlier defeated Louisiana in the tournament.
- Tulsa National parents released a statement saying "This one is on you" to administrators and announced they are "reviewing the Tulsa National Charter to see what is needed for a change so this doesn't happen to a different team."
Why it matters: A 13-player Tulsa National team lost its Southwest Region championship opportunity over a birth-year registration error made by one player's father for a sibling in an adaptive league, while West Texas advances to South Williamsport. The parents' statement explicitly signals they are reviewing the Tulsa National charter for governance changes, indicating structural fallout that extends beyond this tournament.
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