MORGAN PARK — Have you seen the most recent Little League World Series commercial playing on ESPN?
It's a string of highlights that complement the inspirational post-game speech made by Rhode Island coach Dave Belisle after his team lost in last year's tournament.
"You had the whole place jumpin'. Wanna know why? They like sportsmen. They like guys that don't quit. They like guys who play the game the right way," Belisle is heard telling his team during the TV spot.
Well, some folks on social media aren't too happy the promo doesn't include a single highlight from a member of the Jackie Robinson West team that won the U.S. Championship last year only to have the title stripped amid a cheating scandal.
#LLWS ESPN Promo: "They like guys who play the right way." Gee, that ain't a diss to the kids of #JackieRobinsonWest. Noooo...
— Kevin Grüssing (@KevDGrussing) August 10, 2015The Chicago team can only be seen in the commercial sponsored by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes — which featured Jackie Robinson West team on a cereal box last year — for a split second as they gathered near the dugout while Belisle talks to his team huddled near the pitcher's mound.
A spokesman for ESPN, the network that paid $60 million for Little League broadcast rights, declined to comment on JRW's absence from the mini-highlight reel.
But a source familiar with ESPN's plans for future World Series marketing videos said the sports network hasn't been instructed by Little League to keep Jackie Robinson West player highlights — and there were a lot of them — from commercials.
"The plan is for some [JRW] highlights to be used in teasers and promos going forward," the source told DNAinfo Chicago. "There were no instructions not to include them. They are not being ignored. It's early."
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