SouthCoast Pop Warner Football Parents Need to Vote

It's not often that I get vocal or opinionated about politics, but this is a time when I feel like I need to.

No, I'm not going to give you my opinion on Donald Trump or Joe Biden. I feel like almost everyone has already made up their minds on that one. Nothing I can say will (or even should) change the mind of one single person.

I did pledge, however, to remember Massachusetts State Rep. Paul Schmid when it was his time for re-election. And it is time.

While I'm sure Rep. Schmid is a nice guy, and a loving father and grandfather, I couldn't help but to feel he was grossly overstepping his role when he tried multiple times over the past year to ban youth football in Massachusetts. While I think his heart is in the right place, I feel that Schmid isn't putting enough faith into the parents of Pop Warner athletes.

Rep. Schmid, my wife and I are more than capable of parenting our son. We really don't need your input about what athletic activities he decides to play. You never took me up on my multiple invitations to come down to a single football practice to see how they are run.

I could get into the fact that youth tackle football forms a bond between young men unlike any other sport. I could talk about how the football field might be the last place in America where it's OK to admit that we are forming and shaping these boys into men, giving them an opportunity to overcome and rise above adversity. But you wouldn't get it. And the sport doesn't need to be defended.

If you are a parent, you should be very concerned. This time, the Massachusetts State Rep has his sights set on football. Next time, it could be soccer, or lacrosse, or any activity that your child loves. The truth is there is risk in any activity under the sun. The difference is that I believe that Massachusetts parents are capable of weighing the risks and rewards for their children without government intervention.

How uninformed is the State Rep about football? Listen to this interview I did with him when he first proposed the youth football ban last year.

I don't know much about Evan Gendreau, the Republican running against State Rep. Schmid. What I do know, however, is that Gendreau believes that parents are capable of making these family decisions on their own. I couldn't agree more with that sentiment.

If you have children in organized sports, you need to remember this on election day: will your child's favorite sports be the next to be labeled as "dangerous?"