If you thought some adults take youth sports too seriously, one youth football team in Rhode Island just raised the bar by playing an adult in a game.
The Capital City Buccaneers have had the rest of the 2016 season suspended after an adult suited up for the second half of a game in which they were losing. The 18-year old (another report suggests he may be closer to 20), reportedly the older brother of one of the football players in the 13-14 league, was sent in to play as a coach’s decision. The act was put to bed early as officials realized what was happening and removed him from the game, but the coach has now been fired for his decision.
Literally a man among boys, the safety of the players was put at risk by having an older player take the field. That was one of the primary concerns for the team founder upon hearing the news.
“If I was there, that would never ever happen because safety of these kids is more important to me than anything,” team founder Alexandria Diaz said to WJAR in Rhode Island. “That’s not how I run my program. It hurts me, it hurts the community, (and) it hurts the children because a lot has been ripped from them.”
Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the issue was resolved fairly quickly and appropriately. It’s a shame the rest of the kids on the Buccaneers now have no more football to be played, all because the coach sent out an illegal player who for some reason felt it was appropriate to take the field against kids five to six years younger than him.