By TIM LAI
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Updated at 8:40 AM EDT
With a report from Oliver Moore
TORONTO -- An 11-year-old star pitcher who left his old club because he said his coach used a racial slur toward him can stay with his new team after a judge granted a temporary injunction yesterday.
The Ontario Amateur Softball Association had refused to release the boy from his old team and give him eligibility for his current club in time for this weekend's provincial championships. If an injunction had not been granted, the team would have had to forfeit its games if the boy had played.
"I'm happy because I can play and I don't really have to go through this again," the boy said from Tamworth, Ont., near Kingston. The championships take place in Milverton, Ont., and he said his team's chances of winning are strong.
The boy, who can't be named due to a publication ban, had signed up for the 2005 season with the Stone Mills Stingers, a team he had been on for three years. However, he moved to the Kingston Kobras before the season started because the person he said made the racist comment became the Stingers' coach. An affidavit presented in court yesterday said that the incident was alleged to have happened in 2003 during a tournament, when the man shouted, "What do you think we're fucking niggers," toward the opposing bench.
The boy's mother, Amy Salter, wrote in the affidavit that because her son is half Mohawk and half black, and the only visible minority on the team, the comments were directed at him. When the two learned that this parent would become the coach, they appealed to the league to release the boy. After two requests, the league found no "extenuating circumstances" to do so under its bylaws.
Madam Justice Frances Kiteley of the Ontario Superior Court said the league didn't give any reasons for its refusal to release the boy.
"Simply saying that there are no 'extenuating circumstances' as referenced by the bylaw is insufficient," Judge Kiteley said.
Members of OASA and the Stone Mills Baseball Association were not in court, but were given notice of an application for the injunction. Al Hamilton, the head of the Stone Mills Baseball Association, said that it is extremely rare for player issues like this to end up in court.
The boy's lawyers, Howard Morton and Selwyn Pieters, will be back in court on Wednesday seeking a permanent injunction.
The ruling could have a significant impact on the way amateur sports leagues are operated.
"It's not sufficient for someone, especially senior officials of the Ontario Amateur Softball Association, to ignore the issue of racism and think because they ignore it, it's going to go away," Mr. Pieters said. Mr. Morton said he hopes the ruling will return the game to the players.
"What I hope it means is that organized sports for kids will finally give way to ensuring that the game really is for the kids," he said.
© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.