TAYLOR MILL, Ky. -- Parents pulled their 8-year-old son off his baseball team when they found out it would be sponsored by Hooters, News 5's Sheree Paolello reported.
Collin Schwartz
"I was just very shocked," said the boy's mother, Karen Schwartz. "I thought it was a little odd and inappropriate for little children."
"I told her without batting an eye, 'I'm going to pull him from the team,'" said the boy's father, Richard Schwartz.The Schwartzes said several parents were upset that the Taylor Mill Boosters assigned Hooters to represent a group of 7-, 8- and 9-year-old boys."I don't think there's any little girls leagues being sponsored by Hooters," Emily Schwartz said. The Schwartzes said the league organizer told them it's not easy to find sponsors, and the T-shirts were already ordered."We've liked the league. We love the coach," Richard Schwartz said. "I'm trying to instill some integrity in my sons. I just couldn't live with myself if I told him, on one hand, 'Well, we don't go to Hooters because of this,' but we'll let them pay for our uniforms for our baseball team. I can't do that."
So, 8-year-old Collin, who had been practicing with the team and getting ready for the season, will have to be satisfied hitting pitches from his dad. "He just wants to play baseball," Richard Schwartz said. News 5 tried to contact the manager for Taylor Mill Boosters but was not able to reach him for comment, Paolello reported. A Hooters spokesperson said they sponsor all leagues, adults and kids, in an attempt to support the community.
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