Illinois Youth Football Team Suspended for 13-Year Old Player Who Is in 10th Grade

A Chicago-area youth football organization featuring nearly 200 players and cheerleaders has been suspended for fielding an academically advanced student.

WLS-TV's John Garcia reported Friday the Glenwood Cougars have been barred from the Southwest Midget Football League (SWMFL) in Illinois for having Tremayne Gandy Jr. on their roster.

Gandy, 13, meets the age requirement for the 14-and-under program, but he's already advanced to the 10th grade, where students who are 15 or 16 typically reside, and the league's rules state a team can't have a high school student.

"Here's a young man that is 13 years old doing a 10th grade education and he is being penalized," team president Gary Richardson told Garcia. "Not just him, but the whole program is being penalized."

The league released a statement, saying in part it's "regrettable to enforce a disciplinary action that affects the wider organization, however, each of the 13 franchises in the league have agreed to honor these bylaws in exchange for fair play."

Glenwood coaches told WLS-TV that Gandy has been in the program for several years and, at 140 pounds, isn't yet physically mature enough to compete against older high school opponents.

The Cougars will have to forfeit their final four games and can't participate in the playoffs if the ban isn't reversed by the SWMFL board.