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Daily Sports Digest: Disabled Teen Allowed Back In Dugout

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When the Brewster Little League 10-11 all-star arrived in West Nyack for the Section 4 tournament, they were told that one of the members of their team would not be allowed to sit in the dugout during games.

That member of the team, Evan Sussman, doesn’t take the field during games, but he’s sat in the dugout with teams in Brewster for the passed three seasons. He keeps pitch count, assists the coaches and cheers on his teammates. Sussman, who has cerebral palsy, doesn’t play in the games because he is in a wheelchair.

West Nyack Little League officials told his team that Little League rules state that only coaches and players can sit in the dugout during games because of liability issues. Sussman sat right outside the dugout while Brewster beat LaGrange in Brewster’s first game of the tournament.

Brewster Little League officials wrote to Little League to get a special waiver, and it arrived Wednesday afternoon, just in time for Sussman to .

“He was thrilled,” said Karen Kushnir, Sussman’s mother. “He was very excited that he’d be allowed back in the dugout. He just wants to be with his teammates.”

To make sure Sussman felt welcome, he was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and was given a baseball autographed by former Yankee and Rockland resident John Flaherty.

Brewster ended up losing the game, 6-1, but still has a chance to win the tournament. Brewster will play Middletown tonight for a spot in the finals and a possible rematch against West Nyack. Sussman, who is celebrating his 13th birthday today, will be there, cheering on his teammates from the dugout.

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