I feel for 9-year-old Jericho Scott.
The young boy, who is an outstanding baseball player (with an arm most pros would envy), is being ostracized because his talents exceed those of his peers. The little leaguer’s story has made headlines around the world and just goes to prove that sometimes being too good at something has its disadvantages.
If you haven’t heard of Scott allow me to get you up to speed:
For starters the fourth grader has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. According to reports, the boy whips balls faster than males twice his age. And while that might sound like an impressive feat, Scott’s talent recently got him booted from a local Youth Baseball League in New Haven, Connecticut.
Officials with the baseball league say they simply got tired of parents complaining about Scott’s arm, so a few weeks ago they told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. Stunned by the move Scott’s coach disregarded the ban and sent the baseball prodigy to the mound anyway. The end result: the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left.
Now, officials for the local league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they plan to disband Scott’s team and redistribute its players among other squads. Following that move Scott’s coach resigned and the boy’s mother threw a monster-sized temper tantrum that further fanned the media frenzy surrounding this story.
According to reports, Scott’s mother became irate at the game that the other team forfeited when her son took the mound. Witnesses claim that Nicole Scott threatened league officials and vowed to get the league shut down, and then she called police.
“I have never seen behavior of a parent like the behavior Jericho’s mother exhibited,” one league official told local TV reporters.
Scott denies threatening any one, and has since hired an attorney to discuss legal options.
That said let’s turn back to the issue at hand: Scott’s coach claims the boy has never hurt a single player and that he has been on target each and every time. So how then do you rationalize punishing a child for being too good at his sport?
The Scott’s attorney echoed the sentiment wondering why in this day and age a young boy is being unfairly disgraced because he excels at something.
For their part league officials say they suggested that the boy play other positions, or pitch against older players or in a different league, but Scott says he is not interested. Instead, the boy told local TV reporters that he just wants to go back to pitching for his old team.
“I feel sad,” the young ballplayer told reporters. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
Meanwhile, the boy’s mother had this to say: “I think it’s discouraging when you’re telling a 9-year-old you’re too good at something. The whole objective in life is to find something you’re good at and stick with it. I’d rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner.”
Still, the league stands by its decision saying the only reason they banned the boy from playing was because his pitches are just too fast and several parents lodged safety concerns saying that their children were frightened to face balls coming at them at such a high rate of speed.
“Jericho is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower,” a league official said. “There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport.”
So, what do you think about Jericho Scott’s situation? And what would you do if you were his parents?
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