A Little League player’s celebratory “bat flip” after a two-run homer sparked a disciplinary dispute that ended up in the New Jersey Chancery Court where two Fox Rothschild lawyers won an order that lifted a one-game suspension imposed on 12-year-old M.R.

The winning argument pitched by Fox Rothschild litigators Brian A. Berkley and Michael Fitzgerald was that Little League not only has no clear rule against bat flipping — it actually encourages it by featuring bat-flipping videos on its website.

M.R. had flipped his bat during a Little League Baseball Tournament game in Woodbury, NJ, after hitting a homerun during the championship game of the sectional tournament. He was suspended for one game on grounds of unsportsmanlike conduct and/or “horse play”.

The Rocco family wanted to fight the suspension because the game he’d miss would be the team’s first game in the New Jersey State tournament, a tournament that could lead to the Little Leage World Series. After family-led negotiations to reinstate their player for the tournament failed, the family looked to the courts for relief.

The Fox duo stepped up to the plate and secured a quick hearing before a Gloucester County Superior Court of New Jersey Chancery Division judge.

"Let's be clear, there is no express rule in the Little League rule book against flipping a bat in celebration," Fox argued. "When it suits Little League's interest, it not only condones bat flipping, but it actually promotes bat flipping."

Little League concedes that there is no hard and fast rule against bat flipping but notes that tournament rules “serve as the guide for any determination regarding conduct…which falls distinctly under the discretion of the umpire.”

The court agreed with the Rocco family. The player in question will be allowed to join his team for the State Tournament and all subsequent games.

As this article contains statements regarding past performance, please note that results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.