Photo Credit: Courtesy of NAYS
In recent years, there have been far too many stories of youth athletic contests that disintegrated into bloody brawls involving parents, coaches, and officials. Some programs have been destroyed by embezzlers pocketing enormous sums of money for personal use.
And now this: gambling. That’s right, gambling on games has now reached youth sports.
ESPN’s Outside the Lines recently did a piece on the South Florida Youth Football League, a program which caters to 30,000 kids, ages 5 to 15. While players are scoring touchdowns and making tackles, it turns out the real action is taking place away from the field, reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino. Hidden cameras captured parents and spectators openly making bets in the stands, along the sidelines, in front of coaches, and at the entrance to the facility. Point spreads are created and the stakes can be high. Some games have $10,000 to $20,000 riding on them. As one individual said, “Drug dealers love youth league football.”
