I understand having a mercy rule for little league sports because you don’t want kids to get discouraged when losing by a wide margin, but fining a team for winning by too much seems to be a bit much.
CBS 46’s Mike Paluska (h/t Andy Isaac) reports that the Lawrenceville Black Knights were winning 32-0 in the fourth quarter when eight-year-old Elijah Burrell caught an interception and took it to the house.
The resulting touchdown put the team over the 33-point mercy rule limit and triggered a $500 fine and an automatic one-week suspension for Elijah’s coach.
Elijah’s mother is surprised to see this special moment for her son go to waste.
“We were all super excited, [Elijah] was beyond excited and we were fined for it,” Burdett told Paluska. “[Elijah] had no idea [he was breaking a rule]. This is his first year. This was his first touchdown. He is an eight-year-old boy making a pick-six.”
How do you tell an eight-year old not to score a touchdown because it’s breaking a rule?
