KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A youth football league in Missouri says a father who coaches from a wheelchair must have an adult alongside him during games, a ruling the man is appealing.
The Football and Cheerleading Club of Johnson County said it was worried someone could be injured if momentum carried a play off the field and into Merril Staton's motorized wheelchair, The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday.
"What we were concerned with was the safety of him and the safety of the kids," Rich Hunter, the club's executive director, said. "He can be there, he can take stats, do what he does. We just need somebody, an adult to be there with him in the event that a play got over there".
Staton said he decided to appeal the limitation because coaching his 5- and 7-year-old boys and other children has become too meaningful and fulfilling.
"I can't do a whole lot, I guess, is my bottom line. There are very few things that I can still do that I enjoy to do," he said. "I'll never be able to run and play football like that again. I'll never be able to run and play Frisbee".
Several parents of Staton's second-grade and kindergarten teams said they'd support his appeal.
UPI
