‘It’s not acceptable.’ League 42 facilities sustain more vandalism

League 42’s baseball facilities and Jackie Robinson pavilion were vandalized over the weekend, according to the youth baseball league.

The league, named after the first African American baseball player in Major League Baseball, said in a Facebook post that trash was left behind and a “Friends of Jackie” plaque had graffiti. The league’s facilities and pavilion are in McAdams Park along I-135 between 17th and 13th streets. The league’s Leslie Rudd Learning Center is across 17th Street.

“I don’t understand why people can’t just leave things alone,” the Facebook post said. “We want to share our facilities, and we believe the Jackie Robinson Pavilion is a destination spot for Wichitans and for visitors to our city. But when our citizens do this kind of damage, what are we really showing off?”

The latest issues come after someone put yellow paint on one of the baseball-shaped bollards in the pavilion and vandalized the league’s little library last month.

The league and the city of Wichita said they’ll meet soon to talk about detering vandalism and other crimes at the facilities.

“I just want to make it clear that for people who think that they can come over to our community and vandalize the things that we have both advocated hard for but people have worked extremely hard to bring to our community: We’re not going to tolerate that,” council member Joseph Shepard, who represents the area, said. “It’s not acceptable.”

League 42’s Executive Director Bob Lutz did not want to comment further on the vandalism.

The city said it already has some cameras in the park.

“We are reviewing that footage to see if the cameras extend to the area where the graffiti occurred,” city spokesperson Megan Lovely told The Eagle in an email.

This is not the first time League 42 has experienced vandalism at the park. The league’s statue of Jackie Robinson was stolen and destroyed in 2024, drawing national attention.

A new statue as well as upgrades to the pavilion have been made since.

The city has also made other improvements to the park in recent years.

“Making the park safer and offering more programs and services to the neighborhood is important to the City,” Lovely said. “We have invested 1.1 million in renovating the baseball diamonds, increasing lighting and updating other areas of the McAdams field as well as a full renovation of the Brewer Community Center.”

The Wichita Police Department said it was investigating the vandalism.