PHOENIX — An Arizona youth football league is in limbo after the owner allegedly walked away from the organization.
An attorney representing the league's owner said the franchise would be dissolving amid a decision to file for bankruptcy.
“Our world has been completely turned upside down," JC Lunt said.
Two of Lunt's sons play for Arizona's NYS Youth Tackle Football League. He said their games went unscheduled before he learned the whole league shut down without notice.
“We were literally left with nothing. No money to pay refs. No money to cover fields," Lunt said.
Parents, including Lunt, aren't ready to throw in the towel.
Instead, they're stepping up to save the season.
“We’ve started scheduling games, putting things together for opponents so kids can finish their season, but it’s been extremely difficult because we don’t know everybody," Lunt said.
There are hundreds of teams stretching as far north as Flagstaff and south as Casa Grande.
“This league has thousands of kids that are impacted by this," Lunt said.
Lunt said the goal is to keep those kids on the field.
He said they've managed to schedule games for this upcoming Saturday, despite schools and referees allegedly going unpaid under former ownership.
“They don’t understand, they’re kids. All they want to do is get on the field, they want to run the ball, they want to tackle," Lunt said.
As the Arizona NYS Tackle Football League dissolves, Lunt and three others said they're forming a new organization called Arizona Youth Football League.
“We’re going to take all of those coaches, band together and make this the best place in Arizona to play football," Lunt said.
Lunt said the new league is intended to be a safe space for kids to play football for the remainder of this season and beyond.
“They’re still going to get their games. They’re still going to get to be out there with their teammates and their coaches and finish off a season," Lunt said.
Some parents told 12News they're hesitant to trust a new league after being badly burned, but Lunt wants to assure those parents they're in this for the kids, not the money.
“They’ll be in good hands. We’ll get this figured out. We’re going to work together. We’re going to make this thing awesome," Lunt said.
The new league started a GoFundMe page to help pay for field fees and referees throughout the remainder of the season.
12News reached out to NYS franchise owner James Vieth and his attorney but did not immediately receive a response.
Many other NYS franchises in Arizona and the United States may go by a similar name but are not associated with Vieth.
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