Chris Janes Arrested: Jackie Robinson West Whistleblower Faces Multiple Misdemeanor Charges

Evergreen Park, Illinois, Little League Vice President Chris Janes was arrested Tuesday on several misdemeanor charges, according to DNAInfo.

Police said the 39-year-old, best known as the "whistleblower" whose complaint jump-started the investigation that forced Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West to vacate its U.S. championship last month, was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest.

Janes purportedly chased a female neighbor outside her home early Tuesday morning and verbally assaulted her and her husband. When police arrived at the scene, Janes refused to comply with officers or to give his name. In addition to the misdemeanor charges, he received citations for public intoxication and use of foul language in public.

“I’m embarrassed. I feel awful. I’m very sorry to my neighbors that I scared. I didn’t know them and they don’t know me. I just had a conversation with my family about how foolish I am,” Janes said.

Janes asked International Little League officials to investigate Jackie Robinson West last December, months after the inner-city Chicago team won a national championship before a loss to Seoul, South Korea, in the Little League World Series final. He alleged that Jackie Robinson West included at least three players who lived outside its geographical boundaries on its roster, according to CBS Chicago.

Little League Baseball officials sided with Janes and ruled in February that Jackie Robinson West would vacate its U.S. championship and Great Lakes Regional Championship, according to ESPN. Team manager Darold Butler was suspended indefinitely from Little League Baseball, while district administrator Michael Kelly was fired from his post.

“Quite honestly, we had to do this,” Little League International president and CEO Stephen D. Keener said at the time. “We had no choice. We had to maintain the integrity of the Little League program.”

Janes, who has received death threats over his role in the proceedings, urged the public not to associate his arrest with his town’s Little League organization. “This is in no way a reflection of Evergreen Park Athletic Association Little League whatsoever,” he said. “I hope people don’t bridge the two together.”