Social media was in an uproar on Sunday night when ESPN’s broadcast of the MLB’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania showed kids from the Davenport, Iowa baseball team placing cotton on the head of one of their black teammates in the stands.
Teams from the Little League World Series were in attendance watching the Boston Red Sox take on the Baltimore Orioles when ESPN’s cameras cut to the action in the stands. That’s when the controversy began, as Twitter sounded off on the actions of the children.
Many couldn’t believe what they were seeing, as the white children on the Iowa team were picking the cotton from their free giveaway toys and placing it on the head of their black teammate.
Reports later indicated that the kids were simply trying to mimic Hawaii pitcher Jaron Lancaster, who’s become a star at the LLWS with his white hairdo. Even the parents of the children assured everyone that there was no ill-intent from their kids, and that this was simply a harmless gesture, despite the troubling optics.
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And now, a new photo has emerged that seemingly verifies their explanation, as it shows one of Davenport’s white players also sporting the cotton hairdo.
In the end, all these kids were trying to do was have some fun on their well-deserved night off… And they were wrongfully forced to receive a ton of criticism for it.
Do better, Social Media.
