Wichita leaders gathered at City Hall on Friday to voice outrage over the theft of the McAdams Park statue honoring baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

City Council member Brandon Johnson said the vandalism was a “horrendous, disgusting act” and he said it is stealing from the community, the legacy of work done by League 42, the hard work of city teams to improve McAdams Park, and it was stealing from the kids who participate in the league and look up to the legacy of Jackie Robinson.   Johnson said he is hopeful for swift justice in finding the people responsible.

Wichita Park and Recreation director Troy Houtman said he was hit with a lot of different emotions when he heard of the vandalism and he wondered who would do such a thing. He said the impact of the theft is not just the value of the statue, it also impacts the history of the community and the history of baseball and it is the opposite of everything that Jackie Robinson stood for.   Houtman said the city will replace the statue one way or another.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said he is frustrated by the actions of the people who took the statue.  He said the city wants the statue returned and he said the people responsible will be held accountable.  He said officers and detectives are working to find those people and recover the statue.

League 42 founder and executive director Bob Lutz called the vandalism “a big gut punch” and he is committed to making the Jackie Robinson Pavilion at McAdams Park as a destination point in Wichita.   He said a gathering will be held at the Pavilion Saturday morning at 10:30 for people to be together and he said the statue will be back one way or another.