Dorchester footballers sanctioned

Pop Warner club was in altercation

After a brawl last week at one of the nation's most prestigious junior football tournaments, the disciplinary review board of Pop Warner Little Scholars yesterday slapped the Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner Association with a host of sanctions that will impact players and coaches.

The punishment stems from what league officials called "repeat behavioral issues" at the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando last week that included a fist fight between members of the Dorchester Eagles Division I Midget Team and the Edgewood Eagles of Cranston, R.I. Both teams ended up evicted from their hotels.

"The altercation between the Dorchester Eagles and the Edgewood Eagles is a saddening and unfortunate incident that took place during what was a great week," said Jon Butler, executive director of Pop Warner Little Scholars, in a statement. "The review board took their time deliberating, and we believe delivered fair and balanced sanctions to both parties."

Eagles officials vowed to fight the sanctions.

The review board issued a three-year postseason suspension for national and regional competition for all divisions within the Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner Association, meaning none of the teams will be allowed to complete in the playoffs.

The board also issued a one-year suspension for Tony Hurston, head coach of the Dorchester Eagles, as well as one year of probation for all coaches affiliated with the Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner Association, which includes about a dozen coaches from the junior peewee league to the midget division.

The board added: "Under the terms of the probation, any violation of the Pop Warner Codes of Conduct shall result in immediate suspension of the program lasting from one year to permanent dismissal."

Leslie Goodwin, president of the Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner Association, said she intends to protest the punishment.

"Not only does it sound unfair, it's a bit harsh," she said last night after learning about the ruling from a reporter.

"I'm surprised they came out with this without notifying us. We haven't heard from our league representatives. We're going to fight their sanctions. This is totally unfair."

Officials from the Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation's largest youth football and cheerleading organization, said the review board's ruling is binding and can't be appealed.

"The review board determined the sanctions based on what they heard from both hearings, and they held both teams accountable, based on who they thought was most accountable for the incident," said Jason Howarth, a Pop Warner spokesman.

He said sanctions will be announced today against the Edgewood Eagles.

"Their sanctions will be balanced," Howarth said. "I think if you ask the Edgewood Eagles whether their sanctions are harsh, I think they will say they're harsh, but harsh is relative."

The ruling is a sad finale to what had been a glorious season for the Dorchester Eagles.

The team had gone undefeated and received a grant from the NFL and donations from parents and well-wishers.

Last week, Terry Cousin, one of the Eagles' coaches, told the Globe that about five of his players were involved in the fight, but he argued that an Edgewood coach started it. "Our kids were the victims; a coach assaulted our kid," Cousin told the Globe.

Edgewood coaches could not be reached last night.

But George Lindell, president of the Edgewood Eagles, had told the Globe that none of his coaches assaulted a student and that no Dorchester coaches were present when the fight broke out.

"It was the blink of an eye," Lindell said last week. "It was an embarrassing moment, to say the least."