Sakonnet Schooners Pop Warner Football Suspended

Fun 107 has learned that a local Pop Warner Football organization will be benched for the entire 2019 season.

Rhode Island Southeastern Massachusetts Football and Spirit conference (or RISMA) is the SouthCoast's branch of Pop Warner Football. The league suspended the Sakonnet Schooners during a meeting last night after the discovery that incorrect paperwork had been filed by the organization for players' physicals.

The suspension also extends to the organization's cheer squads.

Sakonnet President Heath Romano confirmed the suspension on the team's Facebook page this morning:

It is with great sadness due incorrect paperwork missing paperwork and expired dates on physicals after book certs it was deemed that we are ineligible to participate this season. This is not a Risma issue they are following the rules this was an internal issue that as president I will take responsibility for this and correct this from ever happening again. You will all be refunded your money please just give us some time to organize. I am so sorry.

The team's page had been removed from Facebook by the afternoon.

The Schooners 10U team had been scheduled to appear in a game tonight at Gillette Stadium during halftime. They would have faced a team from Connecticut. That, along with all other Schooner activities, has been canceled, according to an email from the league this morning.

Every Pop Warner team is required to submit paperwork indicating that each player and cheerleader has a current physical on file and adequate grades on their latest report cards. Players that fail to submit proper paperwork are not eligible to play according to Pop Warner rules. Teams must field at least 16 players to compete. Head coaches and assistant coaches are all required to pass "Heads Up" concussion education.

Eligible players from Sakonnet's team can request to play on other local RISMA football teams this season.

RISMA President Troy Watson from Portsmouth, RI told Fun 107 that he was unable to comment on the situation because they were still investigating the paperwork incident.