Pittsburgh-area youth football league reinstates weight limit, sidelining players after season begins

One Pittsburgh-area mother says she was told her child cannot play football this season, even after he'd spent weeks preparing for game action.

The South Hills Youth Football League has reinstated a weight limit it had voted to eliminate months ago. The league says rule reinstatement is about safety.

His mom says she understands that concern, but questions why families found out only after the season was already underway.

"'Hey, I hate to tell you this, [but] your son can't play football.' Take a moment, right?" explained mother Ashley Farkas.

After weeks of practice, her sixth-grade son's season was suddenly over.

In April, the South Hills Youth Football League voted 7-0 to eliminate the maximum weight for sixth-grade players.

For months, that's the rule families planned around.

"May went through, June went through, July, no comments, nobody brought up anything," said Nicholas Jeremiah, vice president of the Canon-McMillan Little Macs youth football program.

The kids practiced, they scrimmaged, families paid dues, bought uniforms and took team pictures.

Then came Sunday and weigh-ins.

After an emergency meeting that night, the league reinstated a maximum weight of 205 pounds, sidelining Farkas' son, who weighed 215 pounds.

"He's very distraught. He's upset. He doesn't think it's fair," Farkas said.

At his first practice after getting the news, Farkas says he was so embarrassed he wouldn't get out of the car.

A coach walked over, got him out and brought him onto the field.

"He did get out of the car; he came down to the field, and they all clapped and they all came in and gave a big hug."

He can still practice, he can still go to the games and if he gets down to 205 pounds, he can play.

"He doesn't want to hurt other kids. He knows that if I send someone to the hospital, it's on me. He's very cautious about that," Farkas said.

The team's vice president says he's now trying to find common ground with the league, hoping there's still a way to get the player back in the game.

"I'm hoping to get some kind of response. This weekend is our first scrimmage, and then we open up for our first game next weekend," Jeremiah said.

The new rule reportedly doesn't affect just one player; three sixth-graders are now sidelined due to the new weight limit.