Boston Pop Warner Team Booted from WDW Hotel

[Goofster]

Boston Pop Warner team booted from playoff hotel
Team says fight accusations false
By Jessica Fargen
Friday, December 12, 2008 - Updated 37m ago

The down-on-their-luck Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner team - who just weeks ago pleaded with the public for donations to allow them to go to Florida for a championship game - were kicked out of their Sunshine State hotel after they got in a tussle with another midget team, according to a Pop Warner spokesman.

The Dorchester Eagles, aged 11 to 15, and the Edgewood Eagles of Rhode Island were kicked out of their Disney hotel in Orlando on Thursday after the two teams got into a physical fight in the hotel cafeteria, said Pop Warner spokesman Jason Howarth.

“It was multiple members of the Dorchester Eagles midget team assaulting people affiliated with the Edgewood Eagles,” including players, he said.

Dorchester Eagles President Leslie Goodwin said the accusations are false.

“It’s not the truth,” Goodwin said in an interview from Florida. “The whole thing has been discombobulated and people are not telling the truth. Our players did not assault a Rhode Island coach.”

She did acknowledge that the team was kicked out of the hotel, and has found other accommodations in Florida.

“The fight at the site was not provoked by Dorchester Pop Warner,” Goodwin said. “There was an altercation between some of our players and the Rhode Island team.”

As a result of the confrontation, the team’s future with Pop Warner may be in jeopardy.

Team leaders are scheduled to appear at a Pop Warner disciplinary hearing today in Florida. Howarth said potential penalties could include the team being kicked out of the league, as well as less severe sanctions.

The Edgewood Eagles appeared last night at a disciplinary hearing after also being kicked out of the hotel. The team was given a waiver to play in the Division II Superbowl championship today, but the league will continue to investigate, Howarth said.

The Orlando police did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

The Dorchester Eagles were one of several local teams that asked the public for help to travel to Florida for the Super Bowl championships. The Dorchester Eagles and another Boston Pop Warner team were given $4,000 from the NFL earlier this month to help pay for traveling to Florida.

The Dorchester Eagles were eliminated from the Super Bowl after losing to the Oak Ridge Colts of North Carolina in the first round.

Renee Nadeau contributed to this report.

[Hull-onian]

You'd think that these teams would be grateful for getting a chance to even go to Florida, and act like gentlemen.

[GrumpyFan]

Is this deja vu? Seems the same thing happened to another group last year? And, if that's not enough, I think the group was from Boston.

[vicster]

Kids sports are waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy to competitive.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Yeah..................

Not surprised that this happened.

[Disney Lynn]

I agree with a previous poster that kids' sports are way too competitive! (DD was a competitive swimmer from 8 to 18 years old). However, please don't think I'm excusing such behavior! Unfortunately, competition can bring out the worst in some people (adults and kids).

I'm actually not too surprised that there were "problems" at WDW; many of the kids did not appear to be supervised at all (by adults, whether parents or coaches). (We just returned from AS Music.) WDW is not just some big play ground where kids can be dropped off to safely "have fun" without any rules or supervision. And that's not the job of the CM's.

[PetefromRI]

It's really a shame but we've seen this comming for years.Kids sports are just to crazy.It's usually the parents behind the kids that are the problem.Eventually Disney may have to eliminate this and I think that it would be a shame but you can't have this kind of conduct,especially at a family resort.
At 11-15 years old I never would have acted like this,my parents would not have tolerated it.My father never laid a hand on us but when he got loud,we knew that we had better tow the line!

[Scar]

... were kicked out of their Disney hotel in Orlando on Thursday ...

The Orlando police did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

The article doesn't say which hotel. I didn't even know Disney owned any hotels in Orlando.

Kids sports are waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy to competitive.

I agree with a previous poster that kids' sports are way too competitive!

I disagree. Competition is good for kids.

I agree with PetefromRI, It's the parents’ (some parents’) overzealousness and severe lack of discipline that is the problem.

[Dixie Springs]

It's got to be All Star Sports (though geographically wrong, 'Orlando' seems to be a catch-all term for WDW resorts). And yes, it is usually the parents' fault for instilling the uber-competitive spirit. Speaking of spirits, that's probably what the chaperones were drinking during the melee.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) I AM NOT SURPRISED!
2) Pop Warner kids do a lot of damage to WDW. *
3) It is no surprise there would be fights.
4) They would be forbidden, but they contribute so much cash to WDW.
5) To play football, they MUST stay as a WDW resort.
6) So , WDW gets food, park, hotel and sports fees.

* Two years ago there was over $10,000 in damage to All Star Sports and over $5,000 to the pool at POFQ. In fact the night manager (called "Duty" in WDW parlance), had to close the POFQ pool due to noise, rough housing, and mischief.

[Ed]

The article doesn't say which hotel. I didn't even know Disney owned any hotels in Orlando.

You're correct; none of the WDW hotels are located in the City of Orlando, and thus the Orlando Police Department has nothing to do with incidents at WDW.

Incidents that are beyond the scope of WDW Security are handled by either the Orange County Sheriff's Department (most resorts) or the Osceola County Sheriff's Department (All Star resorts).

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

Can't say I find this surprising.
We witnessed some pretty trashy Pop Warner behavior in several different years.
Adult supervision was severely lacking.

[Thumper03]

It's really a shame but we've seen this comming for years.Kids sports are just to crazy.It's usually the parents behind the kids that are the problem.Eventually Disney may have to eliminate this and I think that it would be a shame but you can't have this kind of conduct,especially at a family resort.
At 11-15 years old I never would have acted like this,my parents would not have tolerated it.My father never laid a hand on us but when he got loud,we knew that we had better tow the line!

I don't believe sports were the problem in this situation. The lack of parents (or parenting) behind the kids is a more likely culprit.
In October, I had the honor of coaching/chaperoning a football team consisting of 28 Jr. High players at Lucas Oil Stadium following a Colts/Ravens game. I couldn't have been prouder of the kids conduct on the field and throughout the day.
Funny story about that day...
At the end of the 3rd Qtr of the Colts game, we escorted our kids to the lower level of the stadium to change for our game. As we worked our way through the crowd, a drunk fan spotted our players shirts and started yelling/swearing about "Peoria" (which is close to where we're from) I kept a close eye on our kids to see how or if they would respond. The kids kept walking until one turned to the other and asked "Who does that guy think is from Peoria?"
Now back to the original problem at WDW...
Is it normal for PopWarner teams to have high school kids playing with 5th graders? 11 to 15 seems to be a broad range for youth football competition. If I had to guess I would think the older end of this group were at the root of the problem.

[KylesMom]

Is it normal for PopWarner teams to have high school kids playing with 5th graders? 11 to 15 seems to be a broad range for youth football competition.

Pop Warner divisions are by weight and age - so it is feasible that you would have an 11 year old and a 15 year old both in the "midget" classification.

[TinkerbellT421]

They briefed on this story last night on my local news station because Edgewood is in RI (Where i am from).....Not surprised this whole thing went down, it was a matter of time before something got ugly during Pop Warner week down there. I have heard a loooootttttt of stories. Surprised it hasnt been worse or sooner. They didnt really mention much on the news, but I guess the coaches and parents all got involved in the fight, and it was an actual fist/physcial fight. They were interviewing one of the "men"/parent involved and his face was all busted up, scraps and scratches across his cheek....and he was saying "It was just self-defense", and I think he said "We were all protecting ourselves and our kids"....Absolutely dispicaple.

[PoohsGang]

Respect is taught in home by parents........Pop Warner doesnt beleive in this Philosophy, we were there all the Chaperones were guarding the beer coolers at the resorts as well as the bars, not watching the kids at all, IN MY OPINION ONLY, the Chaperones are nothing but a bunch of drunk Jock wannabes, there behavior is worse than the kids, Kids are like a sponge they absorb everything around them. Disney needs to get rid of Pop Warner,although they never will as the almighty dollar speaks too loud!

[TheAdventurer]

It bears mentioning that Dorchester is a very rough part of Boston, with one of the highest rates of crime and violence in the city. I highly doubt this is due to parents pushing kids, or competitiveness of team sports, but rather the environment these kids grow up in.

[ThanxForNoticin]

Respect is taught in home by parents........Pop Warner doesnt beleive in this Philosophy, we were there all the Chaperones were guarding the beer coolers at the resorts as well as the bars, not watching the kids at all, IN MY OPINION ONLY, the Chaperones are nothing but a bunch of drunk Jock wannabes, there behavior is worse than the kids, Kids are like a sponge they absorb everything around them. Disney needs to get rid of Pop Warner,although they never will as the almighty dollar speaks too loud!

I understand the point that you are trying to make here. However, I think folks might be missing a slightly bigger picture here. I've never been involved with Pop Warner, but I have coached youth baseball teams at the Disney complex. For every bad story you hear like this (and it is pathetic that adults and kids would be involved in an altercation like this), there are 100 stories you could share from kids who will remember their sports experience at Disney as something very special in their lives. The truth is, kids in these age groups require parental/adult supervision and direction when away at an event like this. Most of the coaches and parents teach their kids respect. In other cases, the parents get so caught up the competition of the event that they seem to lose sight of their responsibilities to the kids. Youth sports offer far more good than bad - it's just the bad that tends to get people wound up.

If you ask my kids what they remember from their baseball experiences, they'd tell you about meeting kids from Scotland and Venezuela, exchanging pins with kids from the Dominican, and playing wiffle ball at the All-Star with kids from all over the country.

It sounds to me like Disney did exactly what should be done. There was an altercation, they removed those teams, and allowed the remaining teams, kids, coaches, and parents the chance to enjoy the event - hopefully, with a big lesson learned through the inexcusable actions of a few adults.

[mcjaco]

....many of the kids did not appear to be supervised at all (by adults, whether parents or coaches). (We just returned from AS Music.) WDW is not just some big play ground where kids can be dropped off to safely "have fun" without any rules or supervision. And that's not the job of the CM's.

That's parenting for most of the masses, unfortunately. I don't know where this lack of parenting came from, but it's run rampant for the past few years. It seems parents that are hands on, are few and far between now.

[TinkerbellT421]

I cant tell you how many times I actually catch myself saying "This parent is more of a friend than an actual parent to this child"...I might be young, I might not have kids, but I know how my parents raised me, and I have respect for all of my family, friends parents, and adults in general. NEVER EVER would I even dream of saying or doing some of the things I hear and see younger kids do to their parents. And the parents laugh it off and act more like the childs friend than the instiller of morals and values...Its disgusting and disturbing....