And a follow-up to last year's article about the drug and gang money betting on little-kid football in Florida...

Please stop me if you're shocked about this AT -- ALL...

In May of 2011, ESPN Outside the Lines reported upon (and I posted it here) a widespread practice of drug and gang overlords betting on youth football games in Florida.

Well, it appears as if at least some of this has come to the light of the authorities and the arrests have begun.

Six months of investigation led ESPN to the report referenced in the post linked above.

The authorities tacked another year's-worth on to that, and, yesterday, arrested nine coaches/associates in a massive gambling sting.

Let's understand this:  These "men" are well-versed with the gang-types in Florida, and often would pay players to join their teams so they could be involved in betting on the games in what the ESPN article yesterday called a "system of rampant, elaborate and high-dollar gambling on little league football."

Basically, not only was drug and gang money being funneled into this crap, but, on top of it, you basically now have had kids, in the state of Florida, who've been playing professional football since the age of what?  12?  10??  YOUNGER???

Six of the nine coaches have felony records of their own.  This should not be surprising, after a short investigation of the coaches involved with the attack on the Florida youth football referee...

BUT WHAT IN THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS DOING AROUND KIDS?

IN ANY CAPACITY??

Do we have NO upstanding citizens who are willing to be coaches here?

If not:  No leagues, no games.  Period.

The Fort Lauderdale Hurricane had five coaches/associates arrested.

You gotta get a look at what ESPN uncovered on these guys...  (.PDF file)

Brandon B Bivins:  The Head Coach and President of this team...

• Two aggravated assaults with weapons in two years (1994 and 1996)
• One guilty on carrying a concealed firearm (1996)
• Twice on possession of cocaine -- with intent to deliver in 1996, without in 1999.
• 2002, uttering a forged instrument.  (Probably a forged check)
• and Grand Theft TWICE, 1999 and 2002.

For the dear love of God, what is this guy doing on the outside at all?  Yeah, I know it has been ten years since the last one they found, but this guy should well since have been three-struck for 25-to-life if Florida had such a law, or aggravated well beyond maximum by the time of, oh, his EIGHTH major felony or so??

Apparently, Bivins, through a classic barbershop of this culture, was running a back-room gambling ring with everything from youth games to the NFL!!

Darren Jerome Brown:  At least he's had nothing felonious since 1992, but I still question why he didn't do about 15 or so in the can for these three felonies:

• Grand Theft in 1989.
• Dealing Stolen Property the next year
• Delivery of Cocaine two years after that!

Vincent Gernard Gray:  Again, nothing since 2002, but STILL...

• Grand Theft in 1991 AND 1995.
• Uttering an altered instrument in 1995.  (Probably another rubber check.)
• Habitual Traffic Offender in 2002.

Here's a real trip:  This next one is on probation for a 2010 battery on a police officer!  Brad Donte Parker:

• Grand Theft in 1997
• Habitual Traffic Offender in 2006.
• Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute in 2007.
• Battery of and Denial of a Communications Device to a Law Enforcement Officer in 2010.

The fifth Hurricane, an "affiliate" named Brandon Marlon Lewis, has no felony record.

But you have four men, on the same team, involved in this shit and they ALL had Grand Theft felonies, two of them TWICE, and NO ONE is going to bat an eyelash that these "men" are trying to mold kids into being better football players and better men...

The other four charged:

Darren LaShawn Bostic, Coach of the Deerfield Packer Rattlers and Dave Constantine Small, Coach of the Lauderhill Lions:

• Neither has a previous felony record.

The other two coaches are from the Northwest Broward Raiders:

La Taurus Tarmayne Fort:   If I had to guess, "La Taurus" was probably added to his legal name either in the joint or in his gang ties...

• All four felonies are for drugs:  One for cocaine use (1998), two for cocaine trafficking (2000 and 2010), and one for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver (2003).

Again, how is this guy not doing 20 or so for the second trafficking offense?

Willie Tindal:  OK, not since 1994, but that's an Armed Robbery...

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Will someone please tell me why the police, and the other authorities as well who took part in this investigation, aren't simply shutting these leagues and teams down?

PLEASE...  And I don't want to hear this shit about protecting the children, especially after a cursory investigation (which anyone can do -- those records are available publicly, and I accessed them on the coaches in the referee attack!), with THIS KIND of malarkey going on.

I mean, SERIOUSLY...

A detective source said that a rivalry game involving seven of the nine men charged (Hurricanes vs. Raiders) had $20,000 of action on it, and the latest word on league championship action?  $100,000 ...

Basically, all the ESPN attention from May, 2011 did was take the underground action down several floors.

The coaches are setting the damn lines in multiple leagues!  This almost certainly implies massive match-fixing across the board in Florida youth football.

And if they're doing this in youth football, just think what they might be doing when they are being illegally recruited to many Florida _high schools_!!

It's time to invoke the Gordon Ramsay Philosophy on all of this youth football in Florida bullshit:

SHUT IT DOWN!!!