Seems like a good opportunity for the parents of the other kids to teach them that they won't always win or be the best.  They might even try practicing at a higher level.  Just don't punish the kid for being better than the other kids.

Too bad he's not a Chinese citizen, otherwise he could have pitched for China in this years Olympics.

That's sad.

What a joke ... there are so many kids today getting in trouble and not doing anything constructive. What message are they sending this child that OMG you have a talent but tough its not fair for the others. When i was in cub scouts baseball i had to bat against 10-11 year olds that had beards ... they could throw something nasty ... but it taught me to try harder when i came to bat. If this kid is that good there has to be a more advanced older league he can play in

I blame Barry Bonds.

I think that is horrible. What are we teaching our kids....that because they are too good at something, they cant do it. We are supposed to encourage them to be the best at what they do. So what, he pitches too fast...he hasnt hit anyone yet and he is good at the sport. So, are they going to make someone else leave the team for hitting the ball too far or running too fast. I think that he should be able to stay where he is and not be punished for a God given talent. Maybe he would be better off playing in an older age bracket and for a different league. They should have never told him that he couldnt play and kicked him off of his team.

I'm with you Grizzly. LOL

I've coached kids and adults at every level. Forty miles an hour is good for a nine year old, but it is not all that fast. In fact, a 40 mile and hour pitch has a pretty sizeable loop to it.

My guess is the real problem can be found in this quote....

"Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators."

Now that kind of thing, I have personally witnessed. 90% of the time, when there is conflict in youth sports, it's dumbass parents that cause it. Another 9.9% of the time, it's cause by dumbass coaches or board members. Children cause it very very rarely.

I can understand the league's concern that his fast pitch might be dangerous for the other children if they got hit by one. Given the litigious nature of today's society, they are just trying to prevent a future lawsuit by making the ruling. Maybe if people weren't so sue-happy or so prone to metaphorically wrapping their kids in bubble wrap, this wouldn't have happened. But this is the result of the bed society has made when it comes to the suing and the "think of the children" attitudes.

Letting the kid pitch for older children who would have experience with a similar pitch speed makes sense. I just worry that the same fear of lawsuits will rear its head on the part of the older children's league, this time being concerned about injuries the older children might cause the boy.

In any sport, as in everything else in life, there will be less and more.  I agree with the comment  about the fault being with the parents and the organization.  They would better serve the children, all the children, by both allowing the kid to pitch in a limited way that would have  also let the others play at their level in any game.  In AYSO soccer there is a fairness doctrine that attempts to cover this eventuality, better players who tend to control the ball and therefore the game, are monitored by the coach by being given different positions and such; after all even these advanced players need to learn the entire game and something called "team".  It's called parenting ,not baseball folks.