Announcer makes Colin Kaepernick comment at Pop Warner football game

An announcer’s comments created divisiveness at a Pop Warner children’s sporting event

The head football coach of the Tiny Mights team says the football game wasn’t the right time for the announcer to bash Colin Kaepernick.

“Our announcer of over 12 years and head coach of the Junior peewee level made a comment about how proud he was that everyone of the players on both sides of the field were standing for the flag and the national anthem,” said Assistant Coach Marcus Haupt.

But parents and coaches said those comments were followed by, “he said put that in your pipe and smoke it Colin Kaepernick.”

Todd Sheridan’s remarks over the loud speaker upset many people including Coach Patrick Ryan who was on the field during the incident, coaching the North Fort Myers Knights against the Fort Myers Firecats.

“It did upset me I mean there’s a time and place we’re dealing with kids and not only kids the smallest level, Tiny Mights, five, six, seven-year-old kids,” Ryan said.

But another coach disagrees and said it was the appropriate time to speak up.

“If you want to go the Collin Kaepernick ideology of freedom speech then yes, it was the perfect platform to say something,” Haupt said.

WINK News reached out to the Peace River Pop Warner conference who says the announcer was removed until the matter is addressed.

For now, coaches are hoping they can move past the division and get back to the sport they love.

“At the end of the day youth football and Pop Warner football it’s supposed to be about the kids,” Ryan said.