Midget football felled a giant in Monroe Township last night.
John Speeney resigned as chairman of the township's Parks and Recreation
Commission in a flap between the Midget Football League and its cheerleaders.
Mayor Carmen J. DiNovi Sr. and the council are threatening to dissolve the
commission for failing to resolve a yearlong feud between the two groups, and Speeney said he was stepping down "to remove the only reason they have for dissolving the commission."
The cheerleaders, who claimed they were discriminated against by receiving smaller trophies, split from the midget league last year and formed their own organization.
Midget football said good riddance, and enrolled a whole new squad to replace them.
In addition to the imbroglio, the commission has been criticized by parents and representatives of other athletic organizations who complain that the
commission interferes in their programs.
On May 12, the parks commission angered football officials when it locked the group's clubhouse to take inventory. The midget league built the clubhouse and says it owns all the equipment. The commission disagreed.
Commissioners said the inventory was necessary because midget football officials were attempting to repossess 36 cheerleader uniforms, worth $2,300,
from the cheerleaders' organization, Speeney said.
The tactic of taking the clothes right off their backs, so to speak, illustrates the degree of animosity between the groups.
"I don't care what they do, they're more trouble than they're worth," Carl Jernegan, president of the midget league, said last night.
Council was unable to resolve the squabble because parents with children in other sports and leaders of other athletic teams joined the fray and also called for the commission to be disolved.
They say the commission, which was formed a year ago as a semi-autonomous organization, had become a political platform for members who have overstepped their bounds and interfered with established programs.
DiNovi said he would ask the township council on Monday to investigate the
commission.
Holding his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, he said, "Council is about this far away from eliminating the Parks and Recreation Commission."
Meanwhile, the clubhouse has been reopened and midget football is warning the renegade cheerleaders to stay away from the uniforms.
