That is sad.
I know it's not PC to say so, but babies under age two should have their mother and father as primary caregivers. A child that is missing the love of either shows that void, and they show it early. They hunger for it, and seek it out.
I favor committed parenting by all who have children, but I also admonish all fathers that it's not enough to father our own - we have to reach out and be dads to those kids who got a bad dad in the draw. Those kids will always need someone to drop them off after practice, and making them feel welcome to do it versus making them feel burdened is all in how you do it. Paying their way when it's time for the team to get pizza, and making sure they don't feel on the spot for your doing so is part of it.
Good parenting would solve about 75% of society's problems. Kids needs love, and they need it from a mother and a father, ideally.