Little League CEO: Organization will consider compensating players

As the debate rages on about what to do with college athletes and whether or not they should be paid, there could be an even more interesting question to consider with amateur athletes.

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Could we reach a point where Little League baseball players are compensated for playing?

It is an interesting question to consider, and the compensation wouldn’t necessarily come in the form of paychecks as much as it would in college funds or something of the like.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! spoke with Little League CEO Steve Keener, who acknowledged that compensating players will be a possibility.

"“I’ve always felt we need to be as progressive an organization as we can,” Keener told Yahoo Sports. “We don’t know what’s coming. If at some point in time that would be deemed to be appropriate, we’ll consider it. At the moment, I don’t see the necessity and don’t think we should be compensating kids right now.“Whether at some point down the road any funds could be put aside to help them with college I don’t know. Down the road that’s something we might take a look at even if it’s feasible.”"

As a followup to that conversation, Passan offered the following in support of the notion that these Little League players should get something for their efforts.

This will surely draw the ire from some people who might identify themselves as purists, but it sounds like momentum might be building to focus on the business aspect of the money generated to try and get something for the kids.