Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
<h1>Brandon Team Banned From Playing League Football</h1><h2>Team Accused Of Being 'Stacked' Against Opponents</h2>
If you click on the link below, you'll see a mostly white group of players.
<div style="padding: 0pt 10px 10px;">
</div>The
Brandon Saints, which is made up of 11- and 12-year-olds, has been kept
off the field, accused of being a stacked team so they could beat other
teams in Rankin County.
</span>"I
know everybody on our team wants to play and it breaks my heart. I was
really looking forward to it,"Â Brandon Saint Greg Brandsfield said.
</span>Members of the Brandon Saints went before the Board of Aldermen Monday to ask for help.
</span>Team
members paid to play as part of the Rankin County Football League. But
the league said they can't play and accused the team of failing to
follow the league rules. Three teams are drafted from the Brandon area
to compete with other Rankin County teams and one of the red flags
about this team, organizers said, is that despite the draft, the team
managed to secure 14 players from the same team last year.
</span>"Yeah
they're good, but basically, we just want to play to compete,"Â Brandon
Saints Coach Eric Ryals said. "We feel like for some reason, we're
being blackballed. And we're not going to stand for that."Â
</span>The coach denies that the Brandon Saints are a stacked team.
</span>"Everything against our team is just accusations,"Â Ryals said. "There is nothing that's been proven. We've done nothing wrong."Â
</span>The
city offered to refund team players their $80 entrance fees but parents
claimed that they've already spent $200 apiece on each child, just
paying for the football gear for this season.
</span>Mayor Tim Coulter said the team does have options.
</span>"The
first option is to drop out of the league and find other places to
play, in the metro area or central Mississippi. The second is to drop
six players off this team and mix those with the other two teams we've
got. The third option is to disband the team and to refund the money
and the registration fees,"Â Coulter said. "But I think there is going
to be another option that we would like to talk about at another date."Â
</span>Coulter
said he will meet with the Rankin County Youth Football League and the
city's league officials to work on that other option. But until then,
the Brandon Saints remain benched.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32966488/ns/local_news-jackson_ms/Edited by: Colonel_Reb
If you click on the link below, you'll see a mostly white group of players.
<div style="padding: 0pt 10px 10px;">
</div>The
Brandon Saints, which is made up of 11- and 12-year-olds, has been kept
off the field, accused of being a stacked team so they could beat other
teams in Rankin County.
</span>"I
know everybody on our team wants to play and it breaks my heart. I was
really looking forward to it,"Â Brandon Saint Greg Brandsfield said.
</span>Members of the Brandon Saints went before the Board of Aldermen Monday to ask for help.
</span>Team
members paid to play as part of the Rankin County Football League. But
the league said they can't play and accused the team of failing to
follow the league rules. Three teams are drafted from the Brandon area
to compete with other Rankin County teams and one of the red flags
about this team, organizers said, is that despite the draft, the team
managed to secure 14 players from the same team last year.
</span>"Yeah
they're good, but basically, we just want to play to compete,"Â Brandon
Saints Coach Eric Ryals said. "We feel like for some reason, we're
being blackballed. And we're not going to stand for that."Â
</span>The coach denies that the Brandon Saints are a stacked team.
</span>"Everything against our team is just accusations,"Â Ryals said. "There is nothing that's been proven. We've done nothing wrong."Â
</span>The
city offered to refund team players their $80 entrance fees but parents
claimed that they've already spent $200 apiece on each child, just
paying for the football gear for this season.
</span>Mayor Tim Coulter said the team does have options.
</span>"The
first option is to drop out of the league and find other places to
play, in the metro area or central Mississippi. The second is to drop
six players off this team and mix those with the other two teams we've
got. The third option is to disband the team and to refund the money
and the registration fees,"Â Coulter said. "But I think there is going
to be another option that we would like to talk about at another date."Â
</span>Coulter
said he will meet with the Rankin County Youth Football League and the
city's league officials to work on that other option. But until then,
the Brandon Saints remain benched.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32966488/ns/local_news-jackson_ms/Edited by: Colonel_Reb