Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player – too good, it turns out.
The right-hander throws so hard (40 mph) that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven, Conn., told his coach that the boy could not pitch anymore. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
Players and parents held a protest Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.
“He’s never hurt anyone,” his coach, Wilfred Vidro said. “He’s on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?”
Said Jericho: “I feel sad. I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho’s parents Monday to discuss legal options.
“You don’t have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it’s wrong,” Williams said. “Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?”
The Associated Press
