The 12-year-old Little League player from New Jersey who was suspended for Thursday’s state championship game has been cleared to compete.
Marco Rocco of Haddonfield Little League was ejected after flipping his bat to celebrate a game-winning home run in the sixth inning of a game on July 16. The ejection led to a single-game suspension that would have barred him from Thursday’s game.
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The ejection and suspension were handed out as a result of the celebration being “unsportsmanlike” and “horseplay.” As a result, Marco’s family filed an emergency temporary restraining order in the Gloucester County Chancery Division on his behalf to try to reverse the suspension and get him on the field.
Hours before the contest, Judge Robert Malestein ruled that Marco could participate.
“I am going to grant temporarily the injunctive relief,” Malestein said, per the Associated Press. “I am going to allow him to play in tonight’s game.”
In a text message to the AP, Marco’s father, Joe, said “justice prevailed” in the decision.
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Joe previously commented that his son “Played Little League his whole life, and his dream is to make it to the World Series in Williamsport.”
“We’re in the state finals and are a couple of steps away. We’re on our way there, and now, they tell him he can’t play,” he added, per NJ.com. Joe noted that Little League International promotes bat-flipping online, contrary to the umpire labelling it a “safety concern.”
“They wrote us a letter saying there’s a rule that says there’s no horseplay in Little League, and they consider bat flipping horseplay,” Joe said. “Little League International openly promotes bat flipping all over their social media accounts, their websites and the broadcasts on TV for the Little League World Series. It’s openly promoted and encouraged. My son watches that and was emulating what he sees.”
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Marco will join his Haddonfield teammates against Ridgewood Little League at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The other qualifying teams competing in the double-elimination tournament are Holbrook Little League from Jackson and Elmora Little League from Elizabeth.
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