2006 Little League World Series - Mid-Island Incident

Mid-Island Incident

Television coverage aired throughout the United States on ABC Sports and ESPN. At first, there was no delay on its broadcasts, despite the fact that all managers and coaches were equipped with miniature microphones. That changed after two incidents; one in a preliminary game where an unidentified California pitcher told his coach that " ain't giving me shit" in reference to a tight strike zone, but the other, more important incident took place late in a preliminary-round game in which a player for Mid-Island Little League of Staten Island, New York, who was not publicly identified, told his teammates to just score "one fucking run" that was broadcast live on ESPN. In response, the team's manager, Nick Doscher, slapped the player, a violation of a Little League policy against physical contact targeting players. Both the player and manager were reprimanded, and ESPN and ABC imposed a five-second delay on future telecasts. The incident was part of the continuing legacy of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy.