Little Brother? NJ Little League Now Requires Fingerprinting

There's big brother, who watches your every move. And now, there's little brother, who makes you get fingerprinted if you want to work concessions at a Little League baseball game in New Jersey.

The Tenafly Little League in Tenafly, NJ is now requiring anyone who volunteers at a game and comes in contact with children to get fingerprinted. Everyone from coaches, to t-shirt vendors, to concessions stand workers now have to go through the process. And according to the league's president, the decision to add the extra layer of security was required in order to receive grant money:

Parents are split on the procedure, as WCBS reports:

“I’m fine with it. I have nothing to hide. I’m pretty good,” Garcia said.

“I think it’s a good thing. You can’t be extra cautious, especially towards our kids,” parent Vanessa Semone said. [...]

“It just seems like it’s over-diligent,” parent Kevin Pierce said.

Some parents who only occasionally volunteer said the league is going too far.

“I’m helping gather up the balls or I’m helping rake the field and now I need a background check,” Pierce said. “It’s an intrusion that is unnecessary without a probable cause.”

Tenafly Little League president John Preolo said the league had to require fingerprinting this year because of a much-needed grant.

“To get the grant there is certain criteria that had to be met. One of them is the fingerprinting process. If the town didn’t agree to get coaches and volunteers fingerprinted, I don’t think we would have gotten the money,” Preolo said.

UPDATE:

We've reached out to John Perolo, president of the league, for more information on the grant and have yet to hear back.