Coach Fired — And Team Banned — After 19-Year-Old Sneaks Into Youth Football Game

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — A 19-year-old man walked out on a football field Saturday to give the Capital City Buccaneers an edge against a team of roughly 13-year-old children. Now the Buccaneers have been booted out of the Rhode Island Preteen Football League, Nelson Pedro, the league president, confirmed today.

The Buccaneers will not be able to appeal, he said.

"They're a probationary team," Pedro said. "This was their first season, so there's no appeal." However, they can reapply again next year. The ban probably only means the season will be cut short by one or two games.

"We're at the end of the season," he said. He wasn't aware if the team would have made the playoffs.

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Alexandra Diaz, founder of the banned squad, said she will reapply. She was "mortified" about what happened, she said. The man is 19, she confirmed. He is the older brother of one of her players, she said.

But she is very upset that the punishment has also ended the season for her Pee Wee football team and her three cheerleading squads.

All have been booted out of the league.

Diaz said the Pee Wee team made the playoffs on Saturday. Now, they will not be able to compete.

Pedro, who's also the president of the Tri Town Titans, said he was at the game when the incident happened. At halftime, Pedro was walking along the sidelines when he noticed the player suiting up, he said. He went into the game in the second half.

"I didn't remember seeing him during the first half," Pedro said. "There are some big 14-year-olds," but this player was also stocky. He was suspicious and asked the other team's vice president to investigate.

"I called over and said I wanted to see the certification cards," he said. When no card could be found, and given the player's size and apparent age, the officials stopped the game.

No one booed, he said, but people realized the situation quickly.

"Safety is our number one concern and needs to be paramount," he said. Given the number of headlines over the past few years about concussions, he added, it should be obvious a man should not be playing a contact sport against children.

Diaz has apologized, Pedro said. He could not say if any older players had entered league games before.

"There are always rumors," he said but added nothing that blatant had ever happened before to his knowledge. Most of the rumors are about youngsters a year too old for the league, not about adults.

Diaz said she fired the coach and ended the varsity team's season on the field Saturday as soon as she learned what had happened. She also withdrew the varsity team from the league, she added, due to the negative publicity. She didn't want the league to be smeared. But she does think the ban is harsh.

"I don't understand," she said. "I took all the measures I was supposed to take."

Photo Courtesy Tri Town Titans