The incident and the charges that followed drew wide media coverage in South Dakota and nationally. The American Legion canceled the team’s 2024 season. The letter also named the six players, including Mandel, and banished them from American Legion Baseball or any American Legion programs. Van Delist and the American Legion were also named as defendants, but Knoff’s order only addresses the summary judgment requested by the media companies. Forum Communications, headquartered in Fargo, also owns The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, the Grand Forks Herald, the Duluth News Tribune, and the Rochester Post Bulletin among its more than 30 publications throughout North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.