OKC youth football team claims team secretary will not give them their team funds
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - A youth football team in Oklahoma City claims they are now without money after their team secretary allegedly stole it. Now the coach is going to police for help.
The little league funds are crucial for keeping the team on the field. It helps pay for tournaments, equipment, uniforms and more.
The OKC Hoyas youth football team has been practicing and getting ready for the upcoming season. But now a major setback could affect their games that start in just under a month.
“I would never think she would do anything like that to our kids because she was a part of our family... It’s just a tragic situation, it really is,” said Christian Crigler, coach for the OKC Hoyas youth football team.
With football season right around the corner, Coach Christian Crigler said the OKC Hoyas are in need after they claim their team secretary has been holding onto thousands of dollars in funds that belongs to the team.
“As far as what we can prove, it's about $3,500 that she's in possession of,” said Crigler.
Crigler said time is ticking. The season starts in early September.
Text messages sent to KFOR shows in early August, Crigler reached out to her several times for the funds, but no response.
So, he sent a message explaining the situation to parents and friends, that’s when he finally heard from her.
“So, once I put that out to the teams, someone must have gotten into contact with her because then she contacted me and it was, I can't believe you would do this to me. I can't believe you would say all of these things and I was like well I don’t have anything to go on because you’re not responding... That conversation ended with her saying send me the cash app, and I'll send the money and we can part ways. It’s August 18th and I’ve yet to hear from her,” said Crigler.
Their conversation took place on August 6th. But today Crigler says he still doesn’t have the funds. So, he made a police report this week.
KFOR reached out to the woman in question. She said, “The allegations are false and are being handled with the league director directly.”
But the league director told KFOR it is a legal matter now that a police report has been filed, so he will be letting the investigators handle it.
“Car washes, we do fundraisers, candy sales... It’s upsetting, very much so because I did a lot of the footwork for it as well as the other parents,” said Melinda Tunley, football mom.
Tunley said although this is a setback for the team, they are determined to tackle the season.
“We’re not going to let this hurt us any more than it did. We're going to get back to it, and we'll be on the field pretty soon,” said Tunley.
KFOR messaged the former team secretary for proof she paid the team back their funds, but she did not respond.
On Saturday morning, the team will be back out again fundraising for the upcoming season.
They will be at 122nd and Penn from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. handing out water bottles for a donation to their team.