Marco Rocco, a 12-year-old Little Leaguer from New Jersey, has been suspended from playing in the state tournament after he was caught flipping his bat in celebration of a game-winning home run. However, his family claims that this is hypocritical given that Little League Baseball promotes bat-flip celebrations on its social media channels.
According to Marco’s father, Joe Rocco, his son was initially called out for the bat flip but was later reinstated after an appeal. He then received an ejection and suspension for “unsportsmanlike” behavior. The family is now seeking an emergency temporary restraining order to allow Marco to play in the tournament.
The incident has left Marco “distraught,” as he doesn’t understand why he was punished while seeing major leaguers doing it on social media. His father believes that Little League Baseball’s promotion of bat-flip celebrations is hypocritical and that his son was simply emulating what he saw.
A hearing to determine the fate of Marco’s suspension is scheduled for Thursday, just hours before the state tournament game begins.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/bat-flip-little-league-2d5dc1962f1f9b01436b61c3dbe7fed4