Get off my field!!!

Sent out a reporter to cover one of the later-round games at the local Little League majors tourney tonight, and he was met with a bunch of restrictions and eventually told by the Little League administrator to "Get of my field!!!"

He called wondering how to proceed, I told him to go ahead and get off the field...we'll cover Legion baseball this summer. ;D

We usually reserve a good amount of space for Little League in July, but have never run into something like this...our reporter was asking the umpire where he could be to shoot photos of the game when the onslaught occurred from the league administrator -- also the only league in our area not to respond to our request for all-star rosters a month ago. Perhaps, they should bring in someone with an ounce of PR sense -- most likely some guy with something against our paper. You know, 10 years ago we misspelled his wife's name in a road race agate or something

 

Fuck him. And FOI every scrap of paper his office produces.

 

Forward every parent complaint call to the guy after explaining to them what happened. He'll have a fun time talking to all those parents.

 

Yet another reason we don't cover little league. UGH!!

 

Goodness gracious.

 

exactly my plan

 

Flex, I feel like you're not giving us the whole story or your reporter didn't tell you everything that happened.
Having covered a slew of Little League, photographers are not supposed to be on the field if there is no designated area. If the umpires say fine, then it's a different story, but the administrators can overrule them.
If your reporter put up a fit to the admin about needing field access to properly do his job - which on a field that small is not true - and trying to fight a battle he wasn't going to win, then this is on him.
I'm going to the state tournament today and already know I'm not getting field access. I'm going to try and try to get it, but I'm not gonna throw a shit fit if I don't.
Flex, if you're the boss, I'd talk to the admin to get his side of the story.

 

I think the "Get off my field" was what set Flex off....especially if it's a community field.

 

he work for BP?

 

There is no reason to cover little league baseball. Not now. Not with year-round sports like golf, tennis, swimming, baseball and softball to cover. Maybe there was a time it made sense, but it has passed. The only people who care about little league baseball are the parents who have kids on the team. Maybe some extended family, but that's it. It doesn't sell papers and it generates minimal interest.
As for other sports, I have been able to write stories on a summer high school baseball league, not American Legion, thank goodness, USGA and AJGA golf tournaments with high school kids, and auto racing on teenagers racing in Bandeleros and late model stock cars.
There are plenty of other things to cover instead of little league baseball over the summer.
Get off my field? How about get out of my newspaper.

 

Can you be my boss?

 

Love every word of this post, but if your CEO thinks you should cover Little League baseball, well, it doesn't matter what you think.