Lebanon’s youth football team under fire from league criticism

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LEBANON, Oregon – The Lebanese D2 Warriors Red team have come under fire from their league – Mid Valley Pop Warner – and the referee organization Mid Western Officials Association.

In an email to families Wednesday night, Mid Valley Pop Warner announced the end of regular season games on the weekend of October 23.

The email read: “An unprecedented number of games were called at the start of the season, threats of violence were made against officials, several coaches were suspended for conduct on the pitch and a general poor environment. sportsmanship has permeated many of our sidelines and grandstands. This culminated in a vote last week by Oregon Mid Western football officials to cease service to MVPW for the remainder of 2021. “

Mid Western Football officials said in a statement to Mid Valley Pop Warner: “We have identified two teams whose coaches and / or fans have repeatedly exhibited the most egregious threatening and unsportsmanlike behavior throughout this season. . “

Lebanon D2 Warriors Red and another team from Dallas, west of Salem, are the controversial teams.

Parents and coaches of the D2 Warriors Red team said the allegations made were completely false.

“I attended every game. There was never any intimidation, violence or threats,” said Brianna Garber, parent. “The coaches were only respectful.”

Head Coach Justin Dodge has worked with Mid Valley Pop Warner for four years. He said he was disappointed with the way the league handled this situation.

Dodge said he was also surprised by the latest email to the families of Pop Warner President Justin Adams claiming that D2 Warriors Red coaches and parents are planning to protest a planned match between two other teams. .

“It’s hard for my parents to come forward and protest in a game when I already have another game planned with another team at the same time,” said Dodge.

Parent James Prater has two children on the D2 Warriors Red team. He said referees weren’t fair during games and that led to boos in the stands.

“Get into children’s faces and tell them you can’t play,” Prater said. “You can’t do that. Stop being a goal game the minute there was contact before our kids could go snatch the ball and make the touchdown. “There were never threats of violence. There were boos from the stands because it was obvious what was going on. At one point I shouted, ‘Are we playing against two teams here? ‘”

Parents have said they have the best interests of their children at heart.

“We wanted the best for all the kids,” Garber said. “We wanted the best for everyone and we never wanted to hurt anyone.”

Amid the game cancellations, Pop Warner has offered a registration discount to players returning next season. However, in most regions, only players under the age of seventh can sign up for Pop Warner.

“There will be kids who leave Pop Warner next year,” Dodge said. “These parents deserve a refund. They don’t deserve ‘you won’t get your money back when you’re not here anyway’.”

KEZI 9 News has contacted Mid Valley Pop Warner and Mid Western Officials Association for comment, but has not received a response.

The D2 Warriors Red team said they were able to find other games to kick off the season thanks to a different league taking them under their wing.

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