Free Republic

A California district superintendent recently announced that a high school football team was no longer allowed to display the Thin Blue Line at its games, but that didn’t stop Saugus High School players. When most of the team ran onto the field Friday night, the tradition of the Thin Blue Line Flag was absent. Two players then came onto the field carrying an American flag and a Thin Blue Line flag, even after Superintendent Mike Kuhlman announced they weren’t allowed to show the flag supporting law enforcement .. Kuhlman announced the decision to ban the team from displaying the flag...

Bobby Bowden, whose homespun charm and coaching savvy turned the Florida State Seminoles into a football superpower, died on Sunday morning. He was 91. Terry Bowden, son of the legendary coach, confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died at home surrounded by family. “It was truly peaceful,” Terry Bowden said in a text message to AP. Bowden won more major-college games than anyone except Penn State’s Joe Paterno. He retired following the 2009 season with a record of 377-129-4, but the numbers don’t reflect the impact he had on college football in general and FSU in particular. The...

Mike Gundy, the Oklahoma State football coach who faced a strong backlash last month after being spotted wearing an OAN shirt, has greed to accept a $1 million pay cut and a one-year reduction in contract length. “The changes were offered up by Mike Gundy, and I commend him for that. It was his idea to take a million-dollar pay cut,” Oklahoma State Athletic Director Mike Holder said on Friday. “I think it really demonstrates his commitment to being a better coach. He wanted to make a statement that assured all the players that this wasn’t just about talk, this...

A beloved peewee football coach walking to his car after practice was gunned down execution-style in front of his horrified team, according to reports Friday. Dave Williams told a group of children to run when he saw men with guns walking towards him at Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale Thursday night, WPLG-TV reported. Williams had just treated his team of 30 kids to cookies and Gatorade after the practice, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Miami Jackson Senior High School hired Lakatriona Brunson to be its head coach Monday, making her the first female head coach in the history of Florida high school football, according to Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com. Luther Campbell will take over as the team's assistant head coach. Brunson, also known as "Bernice," is most famous for appearing on the truTV reality program South Beach Tow, a show centered on Tremont Towing and its employees.

Mack Breed, the former assistant football coach for John Jay High School in San Antonio, pleaded guilty to assault for the hit on a referee by Jay players during a football game in September in Marble Falls... Breed was sentenced to 12 months in the Burnet County Jail and fined $3,500. The sentence was suspended, however, and Breed was placed on probation for 18 months. As part of the plea agreement, Breed was also required to permanently surrender his Texas teaching certificate, complete an anger management program, perform 120 hours of community service, and pay restitution to Watts.

Randy Burbach, who concluded a successful season at Corbett Middle School near Portland, will not be invited back to coach next year after he refused to change his team's victory party location despite complaints from parents, the school district's athletic director said.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Cottonwood High School football coach accused of having inappropriate physical contact with a female student will not face criminal charges after prosecutors confirmed the student is 18 years old, district officials said. Josh Lyman, 32, was placed on paid administrative leave April 18 after Granite School District officials said students reported inappropriate contact between the coach and a student. "Because the alleged victim was 18 years of age, it appears it's not feasible to pursue criminal charges," said Ben Horsley, Granite School District spokesman. "However, because she is still a student, we continue to have...

A Tennessee middle school football coach said he got fired after he wrote a song that criticized President Obama. Bryan Glover, an assistant coach at Grassland Middle School near Nashville, co-wrote the country music song, “When You’re Holding a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail.” It was co-written by a parent who has a child on the team. Glover, 26, said he emailed a copy of the song to friends, family members and player’s parents through his personal email account. And that’s when all the trouble started for the self-described independent conservative.

A former football coach was sentenced Tuesday morning to a year in jail for making racially charged threats to employees at Ameritas, where he worked. "Very clearly what stands out in this case is Jose Jefferson made a big mistake," said his attorney, David Watermeier, who sought probation for his client. Jefferson, 38, has taken responsibility and has no history of criminal behavior. Watermeier said an anonymous letter showed up on Jefferson's desk at Ameritas, where he was working as a licensed insurance broker. When he tried to find out who sent it, the attorney said, he was rebuked. Watermeier...

STOCKTON An assistant youth football coach who rushed onto the field and tackled a boy on the opposing team was charged with misdemeanor child abuse on Thursday and had a bench warrant issued for his arrest after he showed up late for his arraignment. Cory Petero was initially arrested on a felony charge, but prosecutors decided to pursue a less serious misdemeanor charge because the youth wasn't seriously injured and Petero doesn't have a prior criminal record, Deputy District Attorney Xapuri Villapudua said. "The injuries to the child were very minor," said Villapudua, noting that the boy suffered sore ribs...

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the East Brunswick High School football coach can bend a knee and bow his head while his players recite pre-game prayers this season, ending a dispute that had mushroomed into a nationally recognized test of the separation of church and state. After nearly two hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh sided with the coach, Marcus Borden, declaring "taking a knee" isn't praying and that the Middlesex County school district can't order him to stand still while his players perform a locker room ritual that spans decades. "Tradition plays a part, and the...

An award-winning New Jersey high school football coach who was barred by his school district from partaking in pre-game prayers with his players has filed suit alleging that his constitutional rights have been violated. Marcus Borden's lawsuit, filed with the Middlesex County Superior Court, asks that the court prohibit the East Brunswick school district from enforcing its policy on prayer. Borden wants to be able to silently nod his head during team prayers before pre-game meals with players and to kneel on one knee with the team in the locker room before the games, actions that violate the current policy....