Cubs Reliever Luke Little Forced To Remove Glove With American Flag by MLB and Umps

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A strange scene unfolded Wednesday night when Chicago Cubs reliever Luke Little was met at the mound by an umpire and told to switch out his glove.

The reason? The black glove had an American flag on it.

(The official cited a series of Major League Baseball rules relating to a pitcher's glove, specifically a prohibition against white on the glove as it could theoretically distract a batter. )

Luke Little shared after the 4-3 win over the Houston Astros that he's worn the glove since Class A ball without a need to swap it out mid-game.

Little was astounded to learn that a bit of white from his glove could be seen as a competitive advantage, prompting questions about the league stepping in at the sight of someone wearing the American flag. Amid social derision in America, wearing the nation's flag has become increasingly taboo.

"The issue was the American flag was on his glove," Counsell shared, via the Associated Press. "Pitchers' gloves, they're pretty strict about not having white on the pitchers' gloves. Apparently, the flag had what could be a distraction to the hitter."

Realistically, Luke Little should be able to wear the American flag proudly. If anything, forcing Little to swap out his glove for one rarely used served as more of an issue since he had to play with what was a stiffer replacement.

Little commented on the scene after the game.

"I had to beat it a little bit, try and get it flexed out," he said. "Of all the things to do is breaking in a glove during a game."

The Cubs reliever shared that the original glove served no competitive advantage in his mind and that MLB reached out with a message instructing him not to use the glove going forward.

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(NY Post):

Following the victory, Little posted “Proud to be an American … Go Cubs Go” on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a flag emoji and a GIF of wrestler Hulk Hogan playing a guitar in front of an American flag.

Proud to be an American ???? Go Cubs Go pic.twitter.com/iKCPSvt8Gy

— Luke Little (@Luke_L23) April 25, 2024

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