WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (UPI) -- Little League officials announced Wednesday that they will "defer to the changing social climate" and ask Congress to change the league's charter to allow girls to play in the program.
The announcement from the board of directors of Little League Baseball, Inc., and the trusteeship of the Little League Foundation said its action was effective immediately.
"It is the unanimous view of the board and the trusteeship that acceptance and screening of young girls, following registration procedures, should be adjudged by the local league organizations and not by the international body," the statement said.
The statement said "the board has taken the position that it would be imprudent for an organization as large and universally represented as 35-year-old (Little League) baseball to allow itself to become embroiled in a public controversy."
The league said "implication that the program is unwilling to change or incompetent to solve its own problems is simply not true.
"Little League does not discriminate and has no feelings of ill will toward any sex, race, color or creed."
The board's statement emphasized that it could not guarantee that girls would be placed on teams.
It said that in the estimate of local volunteers, management and coaches the girls must prove of "equal competency in baseball skills, physical skills and other attributions scaled as a basis for team selection."
It said acceptance and screening of young girls should be adjudged by the local league organizations and not by the international body.
Approval of Congress is needed for the change since Little League has operated under a federal charter since 1964, although the program has been in operation since 1939.
The program currently has some 2 1/2 million boys playing 9100 leagues in 131 countries.
Also begun this year was a softball program for girls which has an estimated 50,000 participants and which the league headquarters said would continue.
The restriction against girls playing in Little League competition has been the objection of a number of court cases across the nation, including New Jersey where it was ruled that girls must be allowed to play.
The board said it "believes that its concern and reaction to the recent intrusion into the administrative affairs of Little League by various self interest groups was justified since they have opted to ignore" constitutional law "and have breached as well as demanded abrogation of the rights of others.".
