LLWS Responds to Black Player Being Covered in Stuffed Animal Filling by Teammates

Little League Baseball released a statement Monday addressing an incident in which white players put cotton from the inside of a stuffed animal on the head of a Black player, acknowledging it "could be perceived as racially insensitive," though "there was no ill-intent," per TMZ Sports.

The incident in question happened during ESPN's coverage of Sunday's Little League Classic game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox.

As cameras cut to some of the players from the Iowa team in attendance, several of them were putting the stuffing on the head of a Black teammate. Many people on social media responded negatively to the footage, prompting Little League to address the matter.

Philip Lewis of HuffPost shared the full statement:

"During the broadcast of the MLB Little League Classic, a Midwest player was shown with filling from a stuffed animal given away at the game on his head. After speaking with the team, as well as reviewing photos, multiple players on the Midwest Region team were taking part in this while enjoying the game. As only one player appeared on the broadcast, Little League International understands that the actions shown could be perceived as racially insensitive. We have spoken with the player's mother and the coaches, who have assured us that there was no ill-intent behind the action shown during the broadcast."

Sunday's game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was the latest in MLB's annual celebration of Little League baseball that happens during the Little League Baseball World Series.

The Davenport, Iowa team is representing the Midwest Region and defeated the Northwest Region and the Mountain Region representatives in its last two games after dropping a game to the Great Lakes Region representative.

Iowa plays again Tuesday and needs to win three more games in a row to reach the final of the United States bracket.