Dequay Canton, a Carlynton youth football coach in the greater Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania, is at the center of controversy. He got into an intense brawl with coaches from Keystone Oaks in a now-viral video.
The 24-year-old is one of three people facing charges.
There are a few different outcomes that could stem from this latest youth football incident.
Dequay Canton claims racism triggered the youth football brawl.
Canton is the head coach of the Carlynton Little Cougars D2 Team. His players are 8 and 9 years old.
Carlynton played against Keystone Oaks over the weekend. A viral video, which has received national attention, shows a violent physical altercation between two coaches from both teams before several other staff members jump in to help break it up.
The Steel City Youth Football League said both coaches were ejected from the game. They were also placed on indefinite leave while league officials conduct an official investigation. The investigation remains ongoing.
Three coaches were charged with disorderly conduct, including two from Keystone Oaks. Canton is also charged with harassment. The officer who wrote the criminal complaint also identified him as the aggressor.
However, Canton claims there is more to the story. He claims four different coaches from Keystone Oaks were ejected. He also released a statement to explain why he lost his temper. The head coach of Carlynton accused opposing players of using racial slurs toward his team and accused the officials of ignoring his concerns.
Ryan Crux, a parent of a player on Canton’s D2 Little Cougars team, filmed the video. He told WTAE4 actually sides with Keystone Oaks, which said that it does not condone racism.
“I fully believe Keystone Oaks when they say they would never condone any part of that, because 30 to 40% of their team are of color as well, and it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Crux started filming Canton because he had a feeling that something was about to happen based on his body language.
A new video shows the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Crux has since received an indefinite ban from all Steel City Youth Football League events, effective immediately. He cannot watch his son play for Carlynton until the ban is lifted.
The coach has a history of concerning behavior.
Now that this story has become national news, Crux is not holding back. He already exposed Dequay Canton for a history of concerning behavior during his son’s time with the program.
Two new videos show the youth football coach interact with his players. One video shows him latch on to the 3rd or 4th grader’s facemask during instruction.
This is Crux’s son:
A third video shows a Carlynton player hit one of his teammates. Crux claims it is a direct reflection of Canton’s example.
The Steel City Youth Football League has yet to conclude its investigation. Canton could be cleared of wrongdoing. His claims of racism could be proved as true, which would reflect poorly on Keystone Oaks. It would not excuse the brawl, especially given the history of questionable behavior that was caught on film by Crux.