A
youth baseball team in New
Jersey has backed out of a national tournament after a new requirement says a
COVID-19 vaccination is required for players 12 and up, even though it's
not yet authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.
"I was really crushed,” says 12-year-old player Christopher DiChiara. “I could not wait for this the
whole entire year. I was so excited.”
Some parents are calling the popular summer baseball tournament and camp
experience near Cooperstown, New York, a money grab after teams coughed
up nearly $20,000 per team to participate.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” says parent John LaMagra.
“They only get to go one year. Sometimes you can go two years as an
11-year-old, but most of all, it’s a one-year thing. It's sad. It's sad
what these people are doing.”
The
Cooperstown Dreams Park was established 25 years ago and offers
hundreds of teams and thousands of kids an experience of a lifetime -- a
sleepaway camp for baseball wrapped around a tournament where kids play against
other teams from all over the country.
“It's like going to the World Series,” says 12-year-old baseball player
Joseph LaMagra.
Parents who contacted News 12 say about a week after
they submitted final payments, the baseball park, not affiliated with Little
League or the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, changed vaccination guidelines to
require all 12 and up who attend to get a vaccine -- even
though that's not available.
“I don't want to vaccinate my child so he can play baseball for a week
when we aren't even sure if we want to vaccinate him at all,” says
parent Shayna DiChiara.
Teams such as the Brick Bulldogs decided to pull out and risk being put
on a waiting list for next year. The Wall Knights are staying the course
because parents think the organization will change their requirements before
summer.
“I have no intention of subjecting my son to that,” says parent Sheila
LaMagra. “My son has asthma, so he has some existing conditions. At
the same time, he could react to this vaccine very poorly.”
News 12 called and emailed the organizers of
Cooperstown Dreams Park, but they have not responded. Campsite owners near
Cooperstown say they've seen hundreds of cancellations since
vaccine requirements were issued on April 8.
It is not affiliated with Little League, MLB or the Baseball Hall
of Fame.