Teen Football Stars Allegedly Stole $2K of Merchandise From Dick's Sporting Goods — Hours Before Championship Game By Christine Pelisek

Eight teenaged football players from Pennsylvania have been arrested after they allegedly stole more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from a sporting goods store in Florida — just hours before a championship game.

The teens, who are members of the United Thoroughbreds youth football team, traveled to Polk County, Fla., from Philadelphia, Pa., to play in the Prolifix Nationals tournament on Saturday, Dec. 7, WFLA reported.

Before the game, the players Ubered to Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Park where they allegedly stole 47 items, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference Monday, Dec. 8. The items allegedly stolen included gloves, hoodies, lip guards, football gloves and cotton underwear.

“They came into the store in two groups, and they begin to systematically steal product,” Judd said. “And that’s exactly what they did. They stole and they stole, and they stole.”

The alleged thieves included five 15-year-olds and three 14-year-olds, according to WFLA.

“I don’t know if these were starters or not, but I can tell you that we were finishers. We arrested them,” Judd said, adding that the teens were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center and face charges of retail theft and conspiracy to commit retail theft.

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“In Polk County … we lock you up for stealing, for being a thief,” said Polk, referring to the players as the “Thoroughbred Thieves.”

The players did not end up participating in the Saturday night game, where their team lost 26 to 6.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also posted on X about the boys’ crimes, saying, “They picked the wrong state — and the wrong county.”

The case is now under review by the Florida State Attorney’s Office.