ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (WTAE) – A youth football team in Pennsylvania has been banned from their league because of parent behavior.
The Aliquippa Little Quips youth football team has been removed from their league, just days away from the league’s semifinals.
Officials with the Beaver County Youth Football League said there has been a history of misconduct among parents, and a recent fight among adults that involved a pregnant woman was the nail in the coffin.
But the Little Quips organization said the kids, some as young as 4 years old, shouldn’t be punished for the actions of adults.
Jason Harvey, president of the Aliquippa Youth Football Organization, said the program is instrumental in keeping the youth out of trouble.
“We love our kids, we love our program. The love of football in Aliquippa starts young with the Little Quips,” Harvey said. “This is one way to keep them out of harm’s way. I mean, like, without this, they don’t have nothing, nothing at all.”
The team was booted from the league by a vote of six to three.
A statement from the Beaver County Youth Football League detailed an incident last Saturday following the game between the Central Valley Little Warriors and the Little Quips. They say a pregnant mother was assaulted by several Aliquippa spectators.
Center Township Police Chief Eldo Legge said he is working to identify those involved. He said there are pending charges against multiple people.
However, Aliquippa mayor Dwan Walker says he tried to break up the fight and only saw one Aliquippa parent involved.
“This was between two stupid parents who got out of their self, and a situation like that caused this whole snowball effect to happen, that detriment to our kids,” Walker said.
The league’s removal of the Little Quips was held four days after the fight and was effective immediately.
The Beaver County Youth Football League said in a statement, “Their removal is not attributed to this one incident, but it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. They have had a history of misconduct. Eight people didn’t vote them out. Eight organizations that have over 150 families all voiced their opinion and said enough is enough.”
The mayor said he is exploring what legal options the team might have.
The Beaver County Youth Football League said the opposing team was not disciplined after the fight because they believed the parent involved from their team was the victim and acted in self-defense.
Aliquippa is located about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
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