Coach Snoop Causes Controversy

Using star power and cheaper rates, Snoop Dogg's new youth football league is luring children from existing Southern California leagues, leaving some teams struggling to stay afloat while celebrities and corporate sponsors jostle for involvement in Snoop's league.

Two years ago, the rapper and sometime actor rocked the youth football world when he enrolled his two sons in the Rowland Raiders program and volunteered as a "daddy coach" for the team.

Now Snoop is shaking things up again with his decision last month to break from the Rowland Raiders program to form the Snoop Youth Football League, which he plans to expand beyond its initial eight Southern California chapters.

He loosened residency requirements and lowered fees for joining a team from the $175 charged by other leagues to $100, which also covers the cost of cleats and pads.

Snoop believes the lower rates will better serve cash-strapped urban communities.

"It's so easy for a kid to join a gang, to do drugs," Snoop told the Los Angeles Times. "We should make it that easy to be involved in football and academics."

The rapper said he plans to stage a benefit concert Aug. 25 with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ice Cube, with all proceeds to be donated to the Snoop Youth Football League.

A movie by Sony documenting Snoops's creation of the new league, and titled "Coach Snoop," is reported to be in the works.

Still, while many have flocked to Snoop's new league, not everyone is pleased.

"I'm mad at Coach Snoop," said 10-year-old Xavier Bernal, a player for the Rowland Raiders, told The Los Angeles Times. "He was so cool; he told me to play my heart out and to play everything I've got. But now I just want to ask him, why did he take all our players?"

Some coaches and parents supporting other leagues accuse him of sabotaging other teams.

Confused parents are asking why their children's teams are folding. Even Snoop's alma mater, the Long Beach Poly Junior Jackrabbits, is struggling to stay afloat.

"This has affected us in a terrible way," Sarah L. Morrison, chapter president for 27 years told the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know if our program will exist after this season."

Sponsors of the Snoop Youth Football League include Amp'd Mobile, a soon-to-debut cellphone provider that's offering cash sponsorship in the mid-six figures and has talked about giving phones to Snoop's players.