Phillip Johnson, who managed the 2011 Little League World Series entry from Warner Robins, Ga., has been banned for the 2012 season for having alcohol in the complex during last year's LLWS.
Little League International's tournament committee barred Johnson from tournament play, said Little League spokesman Steve Barr. Warner Robins American Little?League banned him from all contact with the league during this entire season, according to the Macon (Ga.)?Telegraph.
Johnson told the Telegraph that a parent of a WRALL?player gave him the alcohol and that he took it into the?International Grove but did not drink it and threw it away. The International Grove is the gated dormitory area where players from all 16 teams stay during the LLWS.
Johnson said that someone from Georgia notified Little League International after the LLWS.
"Little League found out, and obviously I made a bad decision. I admitted it, and I regret it," Johnson told the Telegraph.
Barr was unaware of precedent for this punishment, but said the decision was "cut and dried." Little League also has separate rules banning alcohol in dugouts and on the field, but those did not apply.
Mickey Lay also managed Warner Robins' 2007 LLWS?championship team.
The 2011 LLWS?Warner Robins entry went 2-2 and was eliminated by Keystone.
"There's no telling how many kids he's mentored and coached in a positive way," Lay said of Johnson to The Telegraph.
