STERLING, Mass. — Michelle Gauvin says September 2 was the last time her 10-year-old son Micah was able to practice for the Wachusett Youth Football and Cheer. Gauvin says he was kicked off the team with no explanation and that her questions have gone unanswered.
Gauvin says her son has played with the team for three years, this year would’ve marked year four, but she says an unexpected call from the non-profit back on Sept. 3 notified her that Micah could not go to practice due to several complaints, but Gauvin tells Boston 25 she thinks there is another reason.
“It’s not really one complaint about my son; the problem is that he’s autistic. They haven’t won any games, and they’re trying to, in other words, trim the weak links off the team,” Gauvin tells Boston 25 News.
Peter Farrell is now representing the Gauvin family and initially filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The MCAD complaint that on Sept. 3, the non-profit made remarks that implied Micah was not suitable to play football based on his disability. The complaint alleges remarks were made like “he doesn’t seem like he wants to be here” and “what if he has a breakdown on the field.”
Gauvin’s says her other kids, Liam and Kod,i were also kicked off the team days later.
The non-profit made an official statement on Facebook that says WYFC would never ask any child to leave their program based on a diagnosis or any condition. The statement also says the decision to ask this family to leave was not related to their child or children. They said it was due to the parents’ actions, which violated their code of conduct.
Gauvin says she is aware of the non-profit’s response. Farrell says this is an attempt to rewrite the facts and that they were never made aware of any violation.
Boston 25 News received a statement from Wachusett Youth Football and Cheer on Tuesday that reads in part, “While we will not share the specific events and actions that led to this decision to protect the privacy of all parties involved, we want to make it clear that the family was asked to leave due to the parents’ actions, not the children. WYFC has a Parent Code of Conduct in place for a reason: to ensure a safe, respectful, and positive environment for all athletes, families, and volunteers. Unfortunately, in this case, the Code of Conduct was violated in a manner that compromised the safety of our athletes and included false claims aimed at undermining the integrity of our community-based organization. As a result, we exercised our right to excuse the family from WYFC.
WYFC has never, and will never, discriminate against anyone based on race, religion, diagnosis, or any other factor. We are, and have always been, an inclusive league where all children who can safely participate are welcome. We have a long history of working with youth on the spectrum, and we currently have children in our league who are on the spectrum.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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