Two teams that were disqualified in regional play because of what they termed were two false positive tests for COVID-19 will not be in the Little League World Series after all. That comes despite a Lycoming County Judge saying in an opinion Tuesday that the Little League’s decision to remove Needville, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla., from the Southwest Region tournament earlier this month was arbitrary and capricious. But in the final decision, the judge ruled the teams failed to show their suggested remedy of placing them in the world series would restore them to their status before the alleged wrongful conduct, writing that as a practical matter the regional tournament in Waco has been played and it is impossible replay it. The judge explained that while he is not unsympathetic to the manner in which they were disqualified, neither Tulsa nor Needville earned a place in the series that begins Thursday, and granting the requested injunction would have required Little League to make many adjustments to accommodate the two additional teams.
