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Mom of heavy child barred from playing Pee Wee football says son 'dedicated' to team, head of association says code of conduct wasn't followed
A 12-year-old boy from Texas says he just wants to play football. But the local Pee Wee Association says he's too big to play.
Elijah Earnheart is 6'1" and weighs 297 pounds. That's more than twice the weight the Pee Wee rule book allows for kids in his grade.
Elijah and his mother Cindy Earnheart talk with John Berman on "Early Start" this morning and explain that Elijah was hurt by the group's decision.
"I felt sad and kind of down because I started practicing with them for three weeks, and then, they told me I couldn't play," Elijah says.
The school has provided other opportunities to play football, but Elijah's mom says that's not the point.
"Elijah will play football, that's not the issue," Cindy says. "It's just that we put in a lot of hard work with that team, and he went out there and was dedicated to that team for three weeks, you know, blood, sweat and tears, every single night."
After this interview, Zoraida talks with Mesquite Pee Wee Football Association president Ronnie Henderson who explains that the coach for the Pee Wee team didn't follow the proper steps in this situation.
"They have code of conducts and steps they're supposed to go through," Henderson says. "And this coach didn't follow any of their steps to go through."
"We'll change the wording to make it even simpler to read, and we will meet more with the coaches," Henderson adds. "Everybody should have known this. I really feel like this is just a bad mistake that was made. Maybe the coach didn't know."
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I mean - Really? This should not even be a story. The kid is too big to play at this level of football. From the looks of his Mommy it's not muscle, but just plain ol' fat. She should be more concerned with her weight and how she's influencing her son's weight that a silly Pee Wee league.
I understand that this must be a disappointment for the kid, and that the school should probably have never let him on the pee wee team to begin with. But does it really merit making a fuss on national television?
Why is this a store, they act like this is some grave injustice. The young man has High school, college and hopefully the Pro level, good luck to him in the future, but he simply too large to play Peewee football hints the word Peewee.
Is that kid a Macdonals kid or a burger king kid? I can't tell...
Does she want her child to go through life knowing he has killed another much smaller child? I was also banned from playing Pee Wee football when I was twelve because I was not Pee Wee! However, my parents did not whine about it to the media. And neither did I.
No child should play football. It's a violent sport that risks the child's welfare. It's a stupid dangerous game.
If this kid ends up playing any games in the pee wee league I sure hope they end up on Youtube.
This is hardly anything new. From a safety standpoint, the kid should not be allowed to play. It has nothing to do with fairness. If he waits 2 years he can START for his high school team as a freshman. He is not going to gain any football 'skills' by playing against 80 lb kids. He will gain A LOT once he gets into high school.
What's the big deal? Most Pee Wee leagues have a weight restriction. When I played the weight restriction was 120 lbs. 9-12 year olds. They had 3 weeks of "training camp" and then you went to weigh-ins. Anyone over 120 lbs wasn't allowed to continue. Maybe the mom should have read, known, and understood the rules before she signed her man-child up to play.