Reports are coming out about things that went on behind the scenes with the New England Bobcats following their folding. Examples include sleeping on the floor of a basement, not having a medical staff at a game and of course players not getting paid.
This is not the first time, and unfortunately it’s a safe assumption it won’t be the last, that there has been a whole mess of drama behind the scenes with an arena football team. In fact, here are some other stories of teams no longer with us.
Upstate Dragons
Last season, several players told Inside the Arena that they were not being paid by the team. “They keep saying that they’re working on it, but [I] haven’t seen a cent yet,” one player said. The coaching staff also appears to be causing some trouble from within.
“We’re just being coached by a child,” another player told Inside the Arena back in April 2018. “We’ve got stellar receivers that are playing completely out of position [a 6’4″ guy that constantly goes over the middle, a proven slot receiver that goes downfield every play, a 5’7″ speedster that’s viewed as the team’s best red zone threat], defensive backs and linebackers that can’t tackle because they’re never made to practice [we haven’t had a single practice in full pads this year – why?], and an offensive line with a Joe Thomas-style cursed generational talent, a center that’s prone to injury, and a revolving door of total garbage at the other tackle spot.
“It was destined to fail from the start. I don’t know how we didn’t see it, to be honest – I’ve never met a coach that’s as tyrannical, ignorant, and just prone to lying as ours. He’s a pathological liar, no doubt in my mind,” they added.
The week following the quote given to Inside the Arena, Meredith stepped in to play quarterback for the team. When a coach plays quarterback, you know there’s a problem.
In addition, during Dragons training camp, quarterback Lorenz Stefan, who traveled from Arizona to South Carolina, left camp after just four hours because coaches tried to make him play another position.
Georgia Doom
The Doom have ended operations early for a second consecutive season. Last year, they gave up a playoff spot and a former player told Inside the Arena it was because “money ran up.” “We had no idea they were broke,” the player said. “If I knew it was the way it was, I would have left not played nor came back to the organization because it was faulty.”
Rochester Kings
Following their first game, a 40-39 win over the Jersey Flight, things were looking good for the Kings. Unfortunately, that wound up being the only thing that was good for them.
There were issues so bad with the arena, one player said teams didn’t want to play there. “Our field really wasn’t taped down well, so teams like the Vermont Bucks and Jersey Flight didn’t want to come play there because literally the field would move and it was ice underneath,” they said. “Our field had the glass around the arena so that upset teams as well, but the arena didn’t want to take the glass down so that stayed an issues as well.”
Issues went beyond the arena and its field. “I wasn’t paid. None of us [were] paid,” the player said. “No one was housed, either. If Blair Taylor and I weren’t the great players we were and willing to commute an hour and half for practice, then we would have gotten cut. They cut me at first because of that and then I told them I can commute and find my way. We payed for our own travel as well.
“I paid for [a] rental to get players down to Cape Fear and we won. But the owner never paid me the $180 for the rental because he said if he knew it would be that much he wouldn’t have went through me. He claim he was doing so much for all of us and I was complaining about a few hundred,” he added.
If you are a player on a team that folded and had these type of problems or if you know someone of that matter, message us on Facebook for more information.
