We, the undersigned, are calling for a change in leadership within the Carlynton Little Cougars Youth Football and Cheerleading Association and for meaningful reforms to ensure that the safety, well-being, and development of children remain the organization’s highest priorities.

This petition is not about one coach, one game, or one viral video.

It is about oversight.

Recent events involving the Carlynton Little Cougars have brought significant public attention to the conduct of adults entrusted with coaching young children. Since then, additional video footage and accounts have raised broader concerns about emotionally aggressive coaching behavior, inappropriate interactions with young players, and the environment in which that behavior was permitted to occur.

Some of these concerns appear to extend beyond a single coach or a single incident.

That distinction matters.

Coaches do not operate independently of the organizations they represent. They are selected, supervised, and entrusted with children by organizational leadership. When concerning behavior occurs repeatedly—particularly when members of leadership are present—the responsibility of the organization cannot begin only after a parent submits a formal complaint.

Leadership has an independent responsibility to recognize inappropriate conduct, establish boundaries, enforce standards, and intervene when those standards are crossed.

The Carlynton Little Cougars’ own bylaws state that the organization’s objective is to help children develop character, responsibility, respect, and strong moral values, and that the development of young people must remain more important than athletic achievement or winning.

We believe those principles require more than words.

They require adults willing to enforce them.

Video footage now circulating publicly has raised serious questions about whether appropriate boundaries for coaching young children have been consistently maintained. These concerns are compounded by accounts and observations suggesting that highly emotional and aggressive coaching behavior has not always resulted in immediate intervention.

The central question is therefore no longer simply whether the actions of an individual coach were appropriate.

The question is:

What did the people responsible for overseeing these coaches know, what did they witness, and what did they do about it?

The absence of a formal complaint does not resolve that question. Organizational leaders who personally witness concerning conduct do not need another parent to tell them what they have already seen.

Children participating in youth sports deserve passionate coaches. They deserve coaches who challenge them, teach discipline, demand effort, and help them grow.

But intensity must have boundaries.

Adults must have boundaries.

And the people responsible for supervising those adults must enforce them.

When repeated incidents cause families and community members to question whether those boundaries have been consistently enforced, leadership itself must be willing to accept scrutiny.

For these reasons, we, the undersigned, have lost confidence in the current leadership’s ability to provide the oversight necessary to move the Carlynton Little Cougars forward.

We call upon the current leadership of the Carlynton Little Cougars Youth Football and Cheerleading Association to step aside and allow new leadership to restore trust within the organization.

We further call for:

A transparent review of coaching conduct and organizational oversight.
Clear, written standards governing appropriate physical contact, profanity, intimidation, emotional conduct, and interactions between coaches and children.
A clearly defined process through which parents, players, coaches, and opposing organizations can report concerns without fear of retaliation.
Documented procedures requiring leadership to investigate and respond to observed or reported violations.
Appropriate training for all coaches and organizational leaders regarding youth coaching standards, conflict management, and the physical and emotional safety of children.
Meaningful communication with participating families explaining what changes will be made to prevent similar situations in the future.
This is not a demand that youth sports become emotionless.

It is a demand that adults remain adults.

The children wearing a Carlynton Little Cougars uniform should be able to compete, learn, make mistakes, and develop without becoming the targets of uncontrolled adult frustration.

And parents should be able to trust that when a coach crosses that boundary, the people entrusted with overseeing the program will recognize it and act.

Accountability cannot stop with the person whose behavior happened to be captured on the video that went viral.

It must extend to the system responsible for ensuring that behavior does not become acceptable in the first place.

For the children participating today—and for the families who will entrust their children to this organization in the future—we believe it is time for new leadership and a new standard of accountability.