Elijah Earnheart, 12-Year-Old Told He's Too Big to Play Pee Wee Football, Speaks Out on Fox and Friends
A 12-year-old in Texas was told he was too big to play Pee Wee football. Elijah Earnheart is 6-feet-1-inch tall and weighs 297 pounds. He was told he was ineligible to play with his fellow seventh graders because of his size. Elijah and his mother Cindy Earnheart appeared on Fox and Friends to tell us their side of the story.
The main reason Elijah says he wanted to play on this particular team is because most of the kids are his friends. He said he felt humiliated after a coach pointed him out of line in front of his teammates and told him that he wasn’t going to make the weigh in. When told he was not allowed to play, he said, “I was kind of sad because I practiced for three weeks and [the coach] told me at the weigh in I couldn’t play.”
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The Mesquite Pee Wee Football Association rule states, “If a player exceeds the stated weigh limit, the player must
display the league-approved symbol in the approved location and only be allowed to play in the following positions: Offensive, Defensive line.”
Elijah wants to play on the defensive line, so does he really violate the league’s rule? His mother Cindy said that she doesn’t believe her son violated the weight limit rule and if so, it should’ve been stated more clearly in the rulebook.
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Critics argue that Elijah could hurt the smaller players, but he says, “I don’t believe it.” Cindy pointed out on Fox and Friends, that while it was recommended Elijah play middle school football at his own school, “what everyone’s failing to understand is he’s still going to go up against the same size boys.”
So far there hasn’t been a resolution both sides can agree on, but Elijah will have the opportunity to practice with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. That experience will be something Elijah’s mom says will help him realize he shouldn’t let his dreams go to waste and that it’s okay to play football no matter his size.
Watch the interview below:
