'Friday Night Tykes' coaches suspended

SAN ANTONIO — After several scenes on the controversial “Friday Night Tykes” show of San Antonio youth football coach Charles Chavarria encouraging his 8- and 9-year-old players to injure opponents, he has been suspended.

On Thursday, the Texas Youth Football Association announced that Chavarria, who coached the Jr. Broncos, won't be allowed to coach for at least a year.

Chavarria apologized Thursday, and said appearing on the show is “the worst thing that's ever happened to me.”

“I went from being a guy who was looked up to in the community, and now I'm getting death threats,” he said.

TYFA president Brian Morgan had said last week that his organization would wait for the entire season of the show to air on the Esquire Network before taking any disciplinary action. But after Tuesday's episode, TYFA didn't wait any longer.

In the episode, Chavarria grabbed a player by the helmet and pointed near the earhole, telling his team where to hit opponents.

FRIDAY NIGHT TYKES -- Season: 1 -- Jr. Broncos Coach Charles Charles Chavarria talks to players on camera during the taping of the reality television show Friday Night Tykes. Chavarria and another coach were suspended for their actions on the show. Chavarria was suspended for one year. The other coach Marecus Goodloe was suspended for six games. -- (Photo by: Walter Iooss/Esquire Network) Airdate: Tuesdays on Esquire Network (9/8c); Premieres January 14th © NBC Universal, Inc. FRIDAY NIGHT TYKES -- Season: 1 -- Pictured: Jr. Broncos -- (Photo by: Walter Iooss/Esquire Network) less FRIDAY NIGHT TYKES -- Season: 1 -- Jr. Broncos Coach Charles Charles Chavarria talks to players on camera during the taping of the reality television show Friday Night Tykes. Chavarria and another coach were ... more Photo: NBC UNIVERSAL, NBC UNIVERSAL, INC Photo: NBC UNIVERSAL, NBC UNIVERSAL, INC Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close 'Friday Night Tykes' coaches suspended 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

“Y'all can hit everybody right here. They're going to lose players one at a time,” he said.

“I was truly disgusted,” Morgan said. “And that's not to say there won't be any further sanctions against Charles and any of the other coaches.”

“I was wrong and I'm sorry,” Chavarria said. “It was a heat of the moment thing, and I wasn't being literal, but it was still wrong. Now, I've lost coaching, the love that I have.”

Coach Marecus Goodloe also was suspended Thursday for the spring football season — six games — for encouraging profanity on the documentary series.

In the season's premiere episode, Goodloe led his team, the North East Colts, in a chant that used an expletive toward an opponent.

The documentary series follows five youth football teams in the San Antonio area, and in the first four episodes, coaches have screamed at crying and vomiting children, encouraged injuries and used profanity.

The Hearst Corp., which owns the San Antonio Express-News, is part-owner of the Esquire Network.

Morgan said the organization has been keeping a tally of other minor violations that have been aired.

The show, which premiered Jan. 14, sparked controversy right from the start, with an NFL spokesman and medical professionals expressing concerns about the show just based on the trailer and the level of violent play and competitiveness it featured.

The premiere of “Tykes” drew 428,000 viewers and was the Esquire Network's highest-rated premiere of an original program to date, Esquire reported.

Morgan said about 100 organizations have inquired about joining TYFA, including a 15-team league in Dallas. TYFA currently has about 100 organizations and 18,000 players ages 4 to 13.

“The show has given us somewhat of a black eye,” Morgan said. “If they talk to us about another season, I'll have a lot of reservations.”