When Little League stripped Jackie Robinson West of the U.S. title, parents of players on the team said they felt "blindsided" because the bad news was delivered by the media on Feb. 11.
One of the players heard the news on the radio while his mother drove him to school.
"I saw the tears well up in his eyes," his mother told DNAinfo Chicago that day.
In a recent court filing, Little League International finally shed light on how that happened.
After making the decision to strip the title, Little League gave a heads up to just three organizations — ESPN, Major League Baseball and President Barack Obama’s administration.
ESPN was the first to know about the decision to strip the title with an “express directive that the information … was embargoed and could not be made public until 10:30 a.m.” [Eastern Standard Time] on Feb. 11.
“Unfortunately, ESPN did not respect this directive and announced the discipline” two hours earlier before Little League was able to contact JRW officials with the bad news, according to court documents.
A source told DNAinfo that an ESPN reporter called her seeking comment about the decision to take the title away the day before Little League officially announced its decision.
"It was an unfortunate error that we regret," an ESPN spokesman said Tuesday.
RELATED: Jackie Robinson West Only Had 5 Eligible Players on Its Title Team
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