Little League Escalates Tulsa National Dispute With Cease-and-Desist Orders
Little League International is taking action in Oklahoma, delivering a cease-and-desist order to two local leagues that released a joint statement calling for the removal of their district administrator and the revocation of Tulsa National Little League’s charter after its softball and baseball teams were removed from the 2026 Southwest Regional Tournaments.
Deer Creek Little League and Pottawatomie County Little League issued a public vote of no confidence in District Administrator Mindy Abbott. They demanded that Little League International revoke Tulsa National’s charter after years of controversy.
Little League International’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Joy Reynolds McCoy emailed Deer Creek and Pottawatomie County Tuesday morning regarding the unauthorized use of Little League’s primary trademark on their media release.
“Little League International is writing regarding the use of Little League® trademarks and branding in connection with the press release jointly issued by Deer Creek Little League and Pottawatomie County Little League on August 13, 2026,” the statement opens with.
“The August 13 press release used Little League's Primary Trademarks in connection with a public statement demanding personnel actions by Little League International, revocation of another local league's charter, and modification of prior tournament results,” McCoy continued. “Those subjects concern governance, employee and volunteer discipline, charter, and tournament determinations that are reserved to Little League International and are not activities undertaken by a local league pursuant to its limited trademark authorization.”
The letter from Little League International’s legal team came just days after Abbott copied Softball On SI on her letter to Deer Creek Little League regarding the improper usage of the Little League logo.
However, when McCoy addressed Deer Creek and Pottawatomie County’s usage of the trademark on Page 2, she permitted them to use “the Keystone logo, the Little League® wordmark or other Primary Trademarks.”
The Keystone Logo was used as letterhead in the original press release.
McCoy also added that the leagues do not have to refrain from speaking out about the injustice they feel occurred within their district. They just can’t confuse the public with branding.
“We are not requesting that you refrain from expressing concerns or communicating your views regarding local league or community matters. You may not do so though in a manner that creates confusion among Little League constituents, including parents and families, by representing Little League International's trademarks and official branding in a manner that falls outside the scope of the limited rights granted to chartered leagues, and of which may cause confusion by suggesting that such a communication is an official or authorized Little League communication.
New evidence obtained by Softball On SI shows the Oklahoma LL State Tournament may have been a sham, with only one of the three participating teams actually eligible to compete.
— Maren Angus (@Maren_Angus) August 13, 2026
This goes far beyond Tulsa National. https://t.co/qXkcv7cdVO
Deer Creek and Pottawatomie County agreed to comply with the cease-and-desist as the only post related to the matter is the petition, which does not display the Little League logo and “has not displayed the Little League logo at any time.”
The petition, as of Tuesday evening, has accumulated more than 440 signatures.
Tulsa National Little League Connections Disappear From OK Diamonds Website Amid Growing Controversy
Meanwhile, connections surrounding the Oklahoma State Tournament are disappearing from the internet.
Softball On SI previously reported on Aug. 14 that Abbott, in addition to a $300 fee to the Little League Data Center, required a $5 gate fee and a $100 team fee.
The gate fee and $100 team fee were paid to Tulsa Area Youth Softball and Baseball, and the merchant information on the receipts was OK Diamonds. After Softball On SI’s investigative report was published, Tulsa National Little League and Tulsa Area Youth Softball and Baseball were both removed from the home page of the OK Diamonds website.
According to the OK Diamonds website, it “offers practice fields, leagues and tournaments for Softball and Baseball.” On its official Facebook page, the bio says, “We provide youth facility management services.”
It is unclear why and when references to Tulsa National Little League and Tulsa Area Youth Softball and Baseball were removed from the site.
Softball On SI attempted to reach McCoy for comment regarding Deer Creek, Pottawatomie County and Tulsa National but has not received a response.
Add us as a preferred source on Google-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus")
Maren Angus was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.