A youth football coach near Orlando was blocked from coaching his players over the weekend because of a controversial local law.
WFTV in Orlando reports Eddie Williams had to watch his team play from behind a fence all because of an Apopka, Fla., city ordinance against people convicted of violent crimes.
Williams has coached the Apopka Raptors for the past two years on state and county-owned fields. But that all changed over the weekend when a background check -- required for anyone to coach at the Apopka owned sports complex -- revealed a 1997 arrest for battery of a police officer.
The state of Florida restored Williams civil rights, but a city rule won't let anyone with a conviction coach on city property. Williams was actually coaching football as part of his probation and he isn't getting paid.
Since Williams is not allowed to coach, his right to due process is being violated, according to attorney Steve La Bret. The lawyer said it's possible a lawsuit could be filed over the dispute.
In addition, Williams told WFTV he might get the ACLU involved.
"I made a mistake in my life and one of the things I wanted to do was mentor young kids so they won't fall in the same traps I did," Williams said.
Apopka, a city of 42,000 located 20 minutes from downtown Orlando, is known as the "Indoor Foliage Capital of the World." The city is said to produces more than half of the world's commercially grown foliage.
