ONLY ON: St. Johns coach suspended after taking players off field for safety concerns

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A Bartram Bears football coach said he was suspended from his league after taking his players off the field due to safety concerns.

Action News Jax spoke with the now-former head coach for the youth football team, who said he pulled his players when referees refused to call penalties for helmet-to-helmet contact. Parents also reached out to us and said they believe the hits were dangerous and malicious.

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This happened last Saturday when the 10U Bartram Bears played the 10U Callahan Warriors.

“It just kept escalating,” James McDuffie said. “I had told the refs throughout the entire first half, ‘Hey, can you please watch this? It’s not the right way to do it,’ and ‘They’re gonna get someone hurt.’ Nothing was called. A couple plays later, we ran the football, and my player was already down. They had a player jump on the top of him head first right into his head, helmet to helmet.”

McDuffie has been coaching football for 30 years—previously at the high school level. He said no flags were thrown throughout the game.

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“That’s a safety issue. This isn’t some judgment call,” McDuffie said, recalling the game. “It’s a safety issue. Please throw the flag.”

McDuffie said when no flags were thrown, after multiple incidents, he took matters into his own hands.

“[I said] you’re gonna snap the ball. Take a knee. We’re just gonna run the clock down. The head ref that was wearing the white hat looked at me, rolled his eyes at me as if to say ‘Oh my God, c’mon’,” McDuffie said. “I said, ‘OK if they’re not gonna protect them, that’s it.’”

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McDuffie took his players off the field with three minutes left on the clock.

Two days later, he received an emailed letter from the North Florida Youth Football and Cheer Conference. It said he had violated protocol for taking his team from the field with time remaining in the game, calling the move “deliberately inciting un-sportsmanlike conduct.” As a result, he would be suspended for one year from volunteering as a coach.

“I was like ‘Oh my God, a year?’” McDuffie said. “What message are you sending these kids and these families about safety?”

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Several parents contacted the Action News Jax and the North Florida Youth Football Conference. On Tuesday night, McDuffie said he was told he could meet with the conference board about the incident and suspension.

“[One of the board members] went over by saying I didn’t follow protocol, by taking the kids off the field,” McDuffie said. “No one has ever went over these protocols with us as coaches. I never remember seeing a code of conduct or signing anything or anyone talking about this stuff.”

McDuffie said board members then said they’d amend his one-year suspension to a one-week suspension.

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“I unmuted my button and I said ‘Thank you all for your time. I appreciate you taking the opportunity to have this Zoom meeting with me. I wish we would have done this sooner, um, I do have a few things I’d like to discuss,’” McDuffie said. “And, I was told ‘no you can’t talk.’”

He said the board members then ended the Zoom meeting. He hasn’t yet received a formal notice that his suspension has changed.

Either way, he believes a suspension, in general, sets the wrong precedent.

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“A punishment for a coach that’s gonna protect his team, I just don’t understand it,” McDuffie said. “I wholeheartedly believe I did the right thing.”

We reached out to the Callahan Sports Association for a comment on the game, but did not hear back.

We also contacted the North Florida Youth Football Conference, who issued the suspension, but no one from the board has responded to our inquiries.

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