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North Trenton little leaguers in the 12-year-old division practice on their field on Thursday, June 30, 2011, instead of playing a scheduled game. According to Manager Branford (June) Colvin, at left, the district administration took away their home game because the neighborhood is not safe.
VIDEO: Little leaguers forfeit game over concerns about violence at Trenton park North Trenton little leaguers practice on their field on Thursday, June 30, 2011, instead of playing a scheduled game. According to Manager Branford (June) Colvin, the district administration took away their home game because the neighborhood is not safe. The North Trenton Little League team was scheduled to play Cranbury-Plainsboro at its home field â Al Downing Field in Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Trentonâs North Ward. But the team never played, choosing instead to forfeit after a Little League official moved the game to a Six-Eleven Little League field in Hamilton because of fears about neighborhood violence. Watch video
TRENTON Rob Whites Little League team was getting ready this week for one of the last games of the season, looking to end on a high note with one final tournament game at their home field off Brunswick Avenue.
But violence or at least the perception of it found its way to the baseball field, and the season ended not with high-fives and slaps on the back, but disappointment and a forfeit.
Our children are up against enough and when you take something away theyre looking forward to, its kind of rough, said White. Its not kind of rough, it is rough.
On Thursday, the North Trenton Little League team was scheduled to play Cranbury-Plainsboro at its home field Al Downing Field in Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Trentons North Ward.
But Whites team never played, choosing instead to forfeit after a Little League official moved the game to a Six-Eleven Little League field in Hamilton because of fears about neighborhood violence.
White said the New Jersey District 12 Little League coordinator who made the call, David Koehler, suggested he didnt feel comfortable bringing a team to the Trenton field.
How can you say were not bringing another team into this element when weve been playing here all along? said White.
There has been a string of shootings in recent weeks on nearby Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, including a June 25 shooting that involved a city detective firing at an alleged drug dealer just blocks from the field while another Little League game was in progress.
I made a decision after consulting with quite a few people that it was in the best interests for all to change the venue due to the violence near the field and the proximity to the park and thats all there is to it, Koehler said yesterday.
White said he consulted his parents and players, and they all decided the team would suit up and head to the Al Downing field in Trenton anyway.
We basically have decided, as a league, as a board and as a team, that we will not go and play a game anywhere else than North Trenton, White said Thursday.
They wanted their home game.
The other team followed the schedule change and didnt show up at the North Trenton field. Whites kids practiced instead and played an impromptu game among themselves. If violence truly were a threat, White said, hed have no problem with the switch. But nothings happened on the well-kept baseball field off Brunswick Avenue, either recently or in its 60-year history, he said. If the league wanted a heavier police presence or more safety measures, all they had to do was ask.
For the Little Leaguers of North Trenton, its another black eye, another reminder that they live in a city avoided and stigmatized by many outside its borders, White and assistant coach Branford Colvin said.
How can we prove their perceptions (of Trenton) are wrong, if they dont come here? said Colvin.
Are there problems in the neighborhood? he continued. Yes. But its the inner city. Theres problems everywhere. But if you take away the positive things, how do you stop those problems?
Players including Deonte West and Mike Bush said they were disappointed that they couldnt play.
I was pretty much mad, West said. I wanted to play our last game.
Koehler wouldnt comment on the city-versus-suburb tensions. The venue swap was a simple league decision, he said, one of many he makes frequently as district coordinator.
We moved the site and one team agreed and the other didnt, he said.
Contact Erin Duffy at eduffy@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5723
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