A Little League player from New Jersey has faced suspension from participating in a crucial state tournament final game. This decision came after the player, in high spirits, tossed his bat into the air following a home run in an earlier game, which led to his ejection. 

Marco Rocco, a 12-year-old from Haddonfield Little League, is challenging this suspension to regain his eligibility to play in the New Jersey Little League State Tournament final. His family has even sought legal intervention by filing for an emergency temporary restraining order in the Gloucester County Chancery Division, according to NJ.com. 

The dispute began when Rocco hit a home run against Harrison Little League last Thursday and celebrated by flipping his bat as the ball cleared the fence. 

The umpires ejected him from the game, which earned him a one-game suspension. Umpires cited a “safety concern,” his father Joe Rocco told NJ.com, and Little League International told the family that the youngster had broken a rule. 

“He’s played Little League his whole life, and his dream is to make it to the World Series in Williamsport,” Joe Rocco told the outlet. “We’re in the state finals and are a couple of steps away. We’re on our way there, and now, they tell him he can’t play.”

Joe Rocco said Little League wrote the family a letter explaining that the organization had a rule against horseplay. 

The elder Rocco’s bigger issue was that he feels Little League promotes bat flipping in social media posts. 

“Little League International openly promotes bat flipping all over their social media accounts, their websites and the broadcasts on TV for the Little League World Series. It’s openly promoted and encouraged. My son watches that and was emulating what he sees,” he said. 

The family said it tried to resolve things amicably but that Little League International was “not willing to compromise in any way.” 

The remaining four teams in the 12U division will play on Thursday night in Deptford, N.J. in a double-elimination bracket, with the winner moving on to the Metro Region Tournament. 

Haddonfield is among the four teams still in the tournament, which includes Holbrook, Elmora and Ridgewood.