The Little League World Series of Baseball is one of the great sporting events held in America each summer. Young kids from all over the world converge on Williamsburg, Pennsylvania to compete for the coveted trophy. The kids are treated like all stars, with press conferences, television promos, and some even get put in Sports Illustrated Magazine. The 2014 LLWS was one to remember, with all star pitcher Mo’ne Davis from Philadelphia proving that girls can throw just as hard, or in her case, even harder than the boys. On top of that, the first all African-American team from the United States won the United States title over a Las Vegas team. The team, Jackie Robinson West ended up losing to South Korea in the international final, but the US Championship was monumental.

Then, on February 11, 2015, news broke that the LLWS organization had opened up an investigation into the championship, soon after, Jackie Robinson West was stripped of all their wins, and voluntarily gave up their title that they had won just eight months earlier.

The league announced that it had first been alerted of violations in September, when another team from their district alerted the officials about possible violations. The team had gathered players from around the Chicago area, instead of in their boundaries. By doing this, the team built a somewhat super team, which is against league rules. “For more than 75 years, Little League has been an organization where fair play is valued over the importance of wins and losses,” Little League International CEO Stephen D. Keener said in a statement. “This is a heartbreaking decision. What these players accomplished on the field and the memories and lessons they have learned during the Little League World Series tournament is something the kids can be proud of, but it is unfortunate that the actions of adults have led to this outcome.”

This isn’t the first time that a team had been caught cheating and stripped of their title, in 2001, Danny Almonte lied about his age to play on the younger team. 14 years old, he lied and said he was 12, which was soon found out by the LLWS.

Though these situations come up in youth sports, the kids are not to blame. These kids simply were playing the game that they loved, and it is unfortunate that the adults around them decided to break the rules. These memories will forever last to the players, regardless of what the record books say.