NWLL baseball scandal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latest update from the complainants is out:

1. Board members Ricky Davenport, John Sague and Molly Quigley (“nominating committee”) will announce their 2024 board on 11/30. Davenport announced that NWLL members (parents) may not attend the board meeting and that it may not be recorded.

2. We continue to receive complaints about the nominating committee’s lack of independence.

3. The NWLL community is proposing its own list of board members, i.e., the “Fresh Start Slate.” It is a very impressive group of non-board members with considerable relevant experience who will ensure that NWLL funds are used appropriately and that rules and governing documents are followed, e.g., none of them will be paid. The election is December 3. Please cast your vote in favor of the Fresh Start Slate. We asked Little League International to help ensure a fair election.

4. The special committee and its lawyers (“Steptoe”) say they will release their report on the wrongdoing next week. Despite that lawyers may not represent the special committee and the company, Steptoe is representing the special committee in the investigation and NWLL in the litigation over access to documents and information. The court has been alerted to these issues and conflicts, which may result in the special committee’s report being disregarded in its entirety.

5. NWLL, the special committee and Steptoe continue to refuse to produce waivers or financial information, including finances for the period of October 2022 to September 2023. On November 22, we asked NWLL, Davenport and the Treasurer (Rossi) for this information (again), but they refused.

6. The special committee interviewed other local little leagues. We learned that (a) no other league pays coaches, (b) no other league pays board members, (c) no other league has an Intermediates division (it’s not even a DC District 1 program), (d) NWLL is the only league that pays to coach Intermediates and Juniors, which operates at a loss every season, (e) other league boards discuss virtually every expense before it is incurred, (f) NWLL substantially overpays for umpires and field maintenance, (g) unlike NWLL, other leagues pay non-board members to teach baseball skills to players under the age of 13, and (h) NWLL, with the assistance of a secret donor who funneled money through NWLL, paid about $4,500 in “financial aid” to one ineligible family that drives luxury cars, e.g., a Lexus and Mercedes, and earned income of over $100,000 annually, and that this was done for the number one ranked player in another league without board approval or discussion and in fact was prearranged by Davenport before the family registered to play in NWLL.

7. Settlement: Over the last month+, we have repeatedly offered to end this dispute if the Board agreed to step down and be replaced by a new board, but the special committee and NWLL refused this offer and did not make a counteroffer.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to working together for the betterment of our NWLL players.

It is clear as day that Ricky and the current board are guilty as sin. There is absolutely no other reason they would dig in otherwise. The only way they have any chance of surviving is to stick to their guns and hide behind the league and its legal representation.

If they were to concede an inch, it would then be game over and a disaster for them.

The verdict is still out...they could survive and they are sweating balls hoping they do. If they don't it will be a personal disaster for them.

Keep us posted!

I can't fathom they could get away with what they are doing with the league money. Everything about the way this league is run is disgusting. How anyone would consider paying for their kid to participate with these untrustworthy louts running the show amazes me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latest update from the complainants is out:

1. Board members Ricky Davenport, John Sague and Molly Quigley (“nominating committee”) will announce their 2024 board on 11/30. Davenport announced that NWLL members (parents) may not attend the board meeting and that it may not be recorded.

2. We continue to receive complaints about the nominating committee’s lack of independence.

3. The NWLL community is proposing its own list of board members, i.e., the “Fresh Start Slate.” It is a very impressive group of non-board members with considerable relevant experience who will ensure that NWLL funds are used appropriately and that rules and governing documents are followed, e.g., none of them will be paid. The election is December 3. Please cast your vote in favor of the Fresh Start Slate. We asked Little League International to help ensure a fair election.

4. The special committee and its lawyers (“Steptoe”) say they will release their report on the wrongdoing next week. Despite that lawyers may not represent the special committee and the company, Steptoe is representing the special committee in the investigation and NWLL in the litigation over access to documents and information. The court has been alerted to these issues and conflicts, which may result in the special committee’s report being disregarded in its entirety.

5. NWLL, the special committee and Steptoe continue to refuse to produce waivers or financial information, including finances for the period of October 2022 to September 2023. On November 22, we asked NWLL, Davenport and the Treasurer (Rossi) for this information (again), but they refused.

6. The special committee interviewed other local little leagues. We learned that (a) no other league pays coaches, (b) no other league pays board members, (c) no other league has an Intermediates division (it’s not even a DC District 1 program), (d) NWLL is the only league that pays to coach Intermediates and Juniors, which operates at a loss every season, (e) other league boards discuss virtually every expense before it is incurred, (f) NWLL substantially overpays for umpires and field maintenance, (g) unlike NWLL, other leagues pay non-board members to teach baseball skills to players under the age of 13, and (h) NWLL, with the assistance of a secret donor who funneled money through NWLL, paid about $4,500 in “financial aid” to one ineligible family that drives luxury cars, e.g., a Lexus and Mercedes, and earned income of over $100,000 annually, and that this was done for the number one ranked player in another league without board approval or discussion and in fact was prearranged by Davenport before the family registered to play in NWLL.

7. Settlement: Over the last month+, we have repeatedly offered to end this dispute if the Board agreed to step down and be replaced by a new board, but the special committee and NWLL refused this offer and did not make a counteroffer.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to working together for the betterment of our NWLL players.

they paid a kid to play!?!?

Why?!

If you read the long document with the original complaints there were so many crazy things they did. What I don't understand is how the other Board members went along with this. If I was a parent I would consider suing all the Board members for misuse of funds I paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

So now all the umps are in on it, too!?!


So. Much. Drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

So now all the umps are in on it, too!?!


So. Much. Drama.

If you'd ever seen the NWLL umps in (in)action (the same few old guys for years), you would know they had no fears about job security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

So now all the umps are in on it, too!?!


So. Much. Drama.

Go read the details in the documents mentioned at the beginning. The relationships with the umps and their behavior was unusual.

[Anonymous]

all hearsay but from commissioners to BOD, all need to leave.

no other league runs this way. parents can't even contact league representatives or get response to basic concerns. NWLLDC is like having a babysitter who tells the parents they can't observe the babysitter or check on ones kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

The Umps for the Summer All Star games are arranged by DC Little League, not by any of the individual LLs.

Are you saying that those umps are also NWLL in-season umps?

We knew who they were from Summer all star games, but none ever umped CCLL games during the normal season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what substantially overpaying umps means? Do they pay only youth umps or do they also pay adult umps? Our Fairfax County- based LL only pays kids, ranging from $15 to $30, depending on level of play and field or plate ump.

As many in the DC Little League community can tell you, NWLL always seems to win more than their fair share of close umpire calls during the summer tournaments. Not 50/50 ball/strike type calls, but more impactful calls that put runs on the board and/or end bad innings. Some have grumbled about this but never had any solid proof of wrong doing. Our league always knew that you couldn't just have one run lead heading into the 6th because weird stuff would start to happen. We used to laugh about it with parents from other leagues. Everyone smelled something fishy.

The Umps for the Summer All Star games are arranged by DC Little League, not by any of the individual LLs.

Are you saying that those umps are also NWLL in-season umps?

We knew who they were from Summer all star games, but none ever umped CCLL games during the normal season.

Um. Did you read the documents? Doesn’t sound like DCLL has clean hands here.

[Anonymous]

Wait. Hold on.

They gave a kid $4500 to play?
Isn't NWLL registration something like $125?

So they gave him cash? Or paid for the cost of summer team registration and travel? (my kid this years ago and I remember there being a summer team fee but back then the summer season was longer with Sports At the Beach, etc).

What was the $4500 actually for and when was it paid?

[Anonymous]

NWLL Annual Membership meeting is at 8pm on December 3. Parents received an invite, please join other parents for an update.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait. Hold on.

They gave a kid $4500 to play?
Isn't NWLL registration something like $125?

So they gave him cash? Or paid for the cost of summer team registration and travel? (my kid this years ago and I remember there being a summer team fee but back then the summer season was longer with Sports At the Beach, etc).

What was the $4500 actually for and when was it paid?

how could that possibly be worth it? what is the point of paying a kid? does someone care about the LLWS that much?

[Anonymous]

Evening, all.
For all those who have expressed interest, there will be an election.
This election will decide who will constitute the NWLL board of directors going forward.

If you want more of the same, you must vote.
If you want change, you must vote.

To vote, you must go in person to Stoddert Elementary school at 8 p.m.

Absentee ballots can be requested.
IF you would like an absentee ballot, you must:

- Request one.
- Complete it properly. [NFI]
- Sign it.
- Place it in a sealed envelope, and
- Return it in the sealed envelope to the Secretary prior to the date of the election.

There will be no online voting, due to the Board's concerns about logistics and election integrity.

There will be 2 slates of candidates standing for election.

One has been released publicly.
Generated from within the NWLL community, this is The Fresh Start Board Slate.
Those standing for election on this slate are:

1. Joe Cannavo. Joe has coached 7 seasons, in the NWLL with 2 sons playing (currently in the Majors & Juniors). Together, they have played 20 seasons in NWLL. In his day job, Joe is Director of Innovation at Diageo.
2. Ashleigh Coniglio. Currently an assistant coach for the AA Pilots, she has has one son in his second year in NWLL and is a lilfe-long baseball fan. She has more than a decade of experience as a VP of Sales & Operations for a specialty finance company, and is responsible for a $15M annual budget.
3. Cedric Diakana. Cedric is in his third season coaching the AAA Stars, where his son plays. Previously, he coached the AA Monarchs for two seasons. Additional coaching experience includes middle school baseball and HS football. In his day job, he is a consultant and advisor in the nonprofit and affordable housing sector.
4. Jed Edeler. He currently coaches the Majors Eagles, and has been a coach and assistant coach for the AAA Eagles. His son played in NWLL AA, AAA and is now in Majors. He has 25+ years as an architect and project manager in architecture, with extensive experience in planning and budgeting.
5. Kevin Moriarty. Kevin started in NWLL in fall 2022, with two sons, aged 13 and 10, and coached a AAA team in fall 2023. He has extensive experience with little league administration experience outside of NWLL. Previously, he coached for 8+ seasons in the Capitol Hill Little League and served as a commissioner in AA, AAA, and Majors in that league.
6. Kathleen Quinn. As a parent of 2 baseball lovers, Kathleen has over a decade of involvement with NWLL. She has served on several community-based organizations' boards, has lived in DC for all her life and, in her day job, works in healthcare.
7. Tom Quinn. A long-time NWLL parent and former coach, Tom volunteers with a number of local community organizations and served 13 years as an elected ANC Commissioner and Treasurer.
8. Margie Yeager. This will be Margie's 5th year of NWLL participation, with 3 sons (ages 6, 9, and 10) playing. She has more than 10 years of non-profit board experience, including serving with a local soccer non-profit organization and working with non-profit boards in the education sector. Her expertise is in governance, finance and strategic planning.


The second slate is not yet final.
The existing NWLL Board of Directors will meet tomorrow, Nov. 30th, in special session,
to decide
which of the candidates put forth by the Nominating Committee (formed on September 10, 2023)
is suitable.

The Committee recommended the following slate for the Board’s consideration:

1. Ricky Davenport
2. Rick Bielke
2. Ashleigh Coniglio
3. Joe Cannavo
4. Thomas Dermot Maher
5. Neha Misra
6. Molly Quigley
7. Katherine Rossi
8. Emily Wander
9. Margie Yeager
10. Scott Anderson
11. Joshua Daniel


The Nominating Committee is comprised of:

(1) Ricky Davenport
(2) Molly Quigley
(3) John Sague

Stay tuned...

[Anonymous]

wow - kudos to that impressive group of first time board candidates. If anyone associated with this league doesn’t throw out entire former board and elect these new voices, they’re pathetic.

[Anonymous]

I wish I could go vote for the new slate! My son played NWLL both seasons for several years, but didn't enjoy his last couple of seasons (11 yo) as things got more focused on the favored players. There are a bunch of other families who followed our same path.

Which is a problem for this vote: Among older kids, the people who stuck with NWLL are the ones that have benefitted from Ricky's insular approach, while the people who were turned off by the unfairness quit and are no longer eligible to vote.

If you have younger kids, vote for the new slate. Otherwise, you may well find that your 9 yo who loves LL becomes alienated as an 11 yo.