By Staff
Kyle St. Peter, 11, of Sterling Heights was prohibited from rejoining his flag football team because at the last-chance mid-August weigh-in he tipped the scales at 151 pounds - one pound over the limit.
Since it's 13 less than he weighed Aug. 2 and he said he weighed 147 pounds Sept. 7, he's doing what any lad who "wants another trophy" does these days - suing for a spot on his team.
It's like a Michigan fan arguing that the Wolverines beat Notre Dame Saturday except officials arbitrarily called a halt to play when time ran out on the clock with the Fighting Irish ahead 17-10, rather than accepting that the No. 3-ranked team showed too little, too late.
At a point where Kyle ought to be moving up to a tackle league and its higher weight limit, his dad Kevin filed a lawsuit in Macomb County Circuit Court alleging the Sterling Football Club violated the boy's civil rights.
By adhering to established rules?
Such rules are there for a reason - the safety of the other kids.
League rules are clear: Each child is allowed a single weigh-in on the day they pick up their flags, helmets and other equipment.
Last season Kyle was too big for the 120-pound cap for 9- and 10-year-old players and moved up to compete with 11- and 12-year-olds.
Kyle weighed 164 in a division with an average weight of 98 pounds.
Sixty percent of the kids weigh less than 100.
The St. Peters went to court trying to persuade the league to let Kyle play - or at least reweigh him.
Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Deborah A. Servitto wisely refused to order the league to reweigh or reinstate Kyle.
She ruled he would not suffer irreparable harm if he was not allowed to play in the season that began Sunday.
Good decision, but the matter shouldn't even have occupied valuable court time.