11-year-old football players with bounties, cheating to make weight, and more

One of the most insane youth sports stories you'll see -- Tustin (the O.C.) Pop Warner coaches are suspended while the organization investigates allegations that they offered bounties for knocking certain opposing players out of the game.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tustin-372973-pop-warner.html

But that isn't all. Not by a long shot. The follow-up story details a pattern of rules-bending that includes keeping one kid light enough to play in the division by putting him on an extreme diet -- one that sent him to the hospital with chest pains, and one that also included a special set of pads that had been hollowed out or shrunken down so he could make weight. (He would then switch to the regular pads after weigh-in, as teammates circled him so officials couldn't see what he was doing.)

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/players-373060-player-red.html

Story says there has been a lot of national talk about this, but I haven't seen any this week. I don't know if there can be any criminal charges against the coaches, but I seriously hope Child Protective Services launches an investigation into the family that starved their kid so he would make weight.

 

Parents are fucking douchebags.

 

What the hell would the bounty inducement be for players that age? An extra happy meal prize at McDonalds? Chuck E Cheese tokens?

 

I don't know why this stuck out to me but it did:

"Galentine ended his email by saying: "There is a group of kids in your community, players on the 2011 Jr. Pee Wee Red Cobras, 2012 Pee Wee Red Cobras, and all other Cobra Football and Cheer teams, that have been placed in the cross fire of this issue by no choice of their own. Please continue to give them all the love and support you can, and please extend your support to the players and cheerleaders of ALL OEC associations ... they deserve it as well."


They have cheerleaders for junior peewee football??? wtf?

 

I don't know if they cheer at the games but Pop Warner runs cheerleader competitions.

 

But they might get scholarships ...

 

They have them at all the games I've been to.

You don't have to be a fan of cheer to know that it's good to give these kids a group activity to work at and keep them out of the house and their noses away from TVs and video games and iPhones and iPads, etc. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

As bad as Little League and AAU basketball and club soccer and all the other youth sports can be, nothing tops Pop Warner football for psychotic police blotter bullshit. Bounties, cheating accusations, rampant embezzlement -- youth football really seems to bring out the worst in people.

 

I couldn't agree with you more on that. But like A_QB said some parents are douchbags. The parents could make this stuff better if they were not as bad as those running things.

 

yeah, it's not Pop Warner's fault the parents are fucking douchebags.

And Pop Warner is worse than AAU basketball? You're out of your fucking mind.

 

When I covered Pop Warner (and in typing those words I think I came to yet another good response to the 'Why'd you get out of journalism?' question), yes. They cheered at games.

 

Been in news for 20+ years. Never covered an AAU criminal story, or heard a complaint from a parent.

In the last 4 years I've covered at least 3 embezzlement cases and one or two cheating scandals, and had a number of emails from parents alleging cheating, brutality, etc. All Pop Warner.

Not saying it's Pop Warner's fault, which should be painfully obvious. (The worst you could say about the organization is they need to do a better job screening out the degenerate gamblers clamoring for the position of league treasurer.) But the douchebag population there is off the charts.