LENNOX, Calif.—The Lennox Little League, starved for cash and staring into a season-ending abyss after the Lennox K-8 School District doubled the fees to rent baseball fields, got a reprieve when a local business donated $1200. After receiving the money, however, it was learned that the local business was in fact Jet Strip, a gentlemen's club located on Hawthorne Boulevard in Lennox, and the money was returned.
"This morning we found out exactly where the check came from," Little league president Robert Aguirre told KTLA on Monday. "It was a shocker to us. We do not want the money from the strip club. I think, for us, we do need the money, but we will go some other avenue."
Aguirre is quoted as saying he wants to keep baseball's image clean, but according to KTLA, "[The club's manager] said that many of the people who work and go there have families of their own, and the club has been giving back to the community for years," including putting on "a family festival every year to raise money for school supplies for underage children. It also contributes to the local sheriff's deputies."
One of parent's quoted in the article was far more accepting than Aguirre. "Whoever is willing to get behind the kids in a positive way, you know, we have to be willing to support those people as well," said Tanya Dempsey.
This isn't the first time a Jet Strip donation has been returned. In 1993, according to Yahoo! Sports, the American Red Cross refused a $5000 donation from the club.
Poor Jet Strip. They just don't get any respect. It's not as if they even wanted any publicity over the Little League donation; they would have been happy to keep it totally anonymous. It was the Lennox Coordinating Council that thought they should get more public credit for their community efforts.
"I told [Jet Strip General Manager James Wallace], 'Hey, it's about time we get you out of the background and let people know you care about the community," community council member Maria Verduzco Smith said. "They don't do anything illegal. It's a business. To each his own."
The Lennox Little League, by the way, which fields 40 teams and over 300 kids, wants to raise $65,000 for a hot dog stand that will then hopefully raise enough revenue to keep the league going on its own.
But have they taken a close look at what's inside those hot dogs?
