Little League says Ugandan team denied U.S. visas

[ej510]

(AP) A youth baseball team from Uganda that would have been the first squad from Africa to play at the Little League World Series has been denied visas to enter the United States.

The U.S. Department of State declined to give a reason for the decision, other than to say that the team's documentation "contained discrepancies," officials at Little League headquarters in South Williamsport, Pa., said Friday in a statement.

"It is unfortunate, as we were very much looking forward to welcoming the first African team to the Little League Baseball World Series," league president Stephen Keener said. "However, we have worked very closely with our State Department in recent years, and we very much appreciate their diligence in this matter."

Little League vice president Patrick Wilson said the State Department cited privacy concerns in declining to release more details.

"We knew their documents were under review … but it's been a couple days of back and forth" before the decision was confirmed Friday, Wilson told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Wilson said the decision was considered final.

The Rev. John Foundation Little League team from Kampala won the Middle East and Africa region tournament, which was played in Poland, with a 6-4 win July 16 over the Arabian American Little League team from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It was the first time in the 65-year history of the World Series that a team from Africa had advanced that far.

Read more at the link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-29-uganda-little-league-world-series_n.htm?csp=34news

[KurtNYC]

1. Danny Almonte

Cheating in baseball with his father's help got him a visit to the GWB White House.

I wonder if this is an age thing also.

[KamaAina]

2. The "Arabian American" team is composed entirely of the (white) kids of U.S. oil workers.

Would they actually stoop to this level out of petulance?

[ej510]

3. Yes.