EDITORIAL - Over the years I used to look forward to when my daughter's Little League team would play Cervantes Remodeling. At that time the team was being taught baseball and class from one of the best coaches I've ever seen in Little League, Larry Cervantes.  

Unfortunately this year Larry isn't coaching. Instead his team is being handled by two newer coaches; one being Larry's former Son-in-law and the other being a sexist jerk.  From the example they are setting, I'd have to say it doesn't seem that teaching sportsmanship and class is something these coaches find at all important.

It started on opening day when the brother of one of the Cervantes coaches showed up drunk to the game, stirred up a fight with the head coaches, yelled profanity and dropped F-Bombs right on the field in front of the players and the spectators. During our next game against them, the 'sexist jerk' coach thought it was appropriate to yell "Don't worry about this stupid girl" to his team when my daughter came up to bat. Then there was the game where our pitcher was hit by a ball and the Cervantes team not only refused to take a knee while he was being checked out, many of the players were out on the field laughing. And during tonight's game, the Cervantes pitcher hit a batter and then laughed about it with his catcher as our batter took his base.

What happened to the class I know Larry taught his players year after year? What happened to the suspension I was told the Cervantes coach was going to get for his sexist remark about my daughter? How can the board of the Madera National Little League allow this kind of behavior to continue?

We need more men like Larry Cervantes in Little League and less poor sports like those that are coaching the team Mr. Cervantes sponsors. I know that if Larry saw everything his "coaches" are teaching these boys he would be angry, if only because he would want to be better represented than this. But as another team sponsor, I have already learned that we often have very little to say about how our teams are run and have even less of a voice with the league's board.

Maybe it's time we did something about that.