The trip to Florida was supposed to end with a trophy, not handcuffs.
Instead, eight teenagers from Philadelphia’s United Thoroughbreds youth football program wound up in a juvenile detention center, facing felony charges and becoming the subject of a viral press conference about what happens when you try to steal in Polk County, Florida.
NBC10 reporter Matt DeLucia says the boys, all 14 and 15 years old, were in Polk County for a youth football championship when deputies say they turned a Dick’s Sporting Goods run into an organized shoplifting spree worth more than $2,000 in sports gear.
The teens never made it to the title game.
A Championship Trip Takes A Turn
According to DeLucia’s report for NBC10, the United Thoroughbreds traveled from Philadelphia to Florida for a youth football championship game, the kind of season-ending trip kids remember for the rest of their lives.
But on the Saturday before the game, things went off the rails at a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Plaza in Davenport, Florida.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office told DeLucia that the teens walked into the store around 10:55 a.m. on December 6, 2025.
They weren’t there to browse, at least not in the normal sense.
DeLucia reports that one teen went to the register and bought something legitimately, while the others fanned out around the store, appearing to just look at merchandise.
Then that first teen rejoined the group, and the operation really began.
Inside The Alleged Sporting Goods Heist
Investigators told NBC10 that once they regrouped, the teens began loading merchandise into a Dick’s shopping bag, using the purchased item as cover.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says they were not tossing in a stray T-shirt or some candy at the counter; they were stacking the bag with higher-value items.
DeLucia says deputies later counted 47 stolen items in all, ranging from shirts and gloves to underwear and other sports gear.
The total value, according to law enforcement, came to $2,296.07.
Three of the teens tried to walk out of the store with the bag and a backpack filled with stolen goods, DeLucia reports.
What they apparently did not realize was that deputies were already waiting outside.
Law enforcement stopped the three at the door, discovered the haul, and then detained the other five teens still inside the store, according to DeLucia’s report.
From there, the championship trip quickly turned into a criminal case.
Sheriff Grady Judd Makes An Example
If there’s one thing Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County is known for, it’s using a microphone as much as a badge.
In a press conference highlighted both by NBC10 and in a video from The Daily Caller’s TheDC Shorts channel, Judd laid out the case and then some.
“Now I want to introduce you to eight of the Thoroughbreds,” Judd said, as quoted in The Daily Caller video. “They had no intentions of paying for their product. So they came into the store in two groups and they began to systematically steal product.”
Then came the line that’s now ricocheting around social media.
“They stole and they stole and they stole and they stole and they stole,” Judd said, standing next to a display of the recovered merchandise. “This is everything that they stole.”
In the Daily Caller clip, the host notes that the team “had a great season” and made it all the way to the championship game, but calls the decision to steal “a bit of a stupid choice” — especially, as he puts it, “being that this is Florida.”
Judd made sure the legal consequences were clear.
He said the teens were arrested, taken to the juvenile assessment center, and charged with felony retail theft and conspiracy to commit felony retail theft.
The Game They Didn’t Play – And A Coach Under Fire
DeLucia reports that because the teens were in custody, they were not able to play in the championship game they had traveled to Florida to compete in.
Their team ended up losing to a Florida squad, short eight players who should have been on the field instead of in a holding facility.
The Daily Caller segment goes further into the fallout, zeroing in on the reaction of the boys’ coach, whom Judd identified as Raekwon Bynes.
Judd told reporters that when deputies notified Bynes, he didn’t focus on accountability; he begged deputies not to arrest the boys.
“Oh, don’t arrest them. Drop the charges. Let them go,” Judd recounted, again in the Daily Caller video. When deputies refused, Judd says the coach then went to the store manager at Dick’s and tried to get the company to back off as well.
According to Judd, the coach eventually snapped at deputies, asking, “Don’t you guys have anything better to do than arrest these kids?”
Judd didn’t hold back in his response, calling the coach “the ultimate loser” and accusing him of failing to supervise the team or “coach these kids upright.”
That’s harsh language, but it also hits a nerve.
If you’re responsible for a group of teenagers on a road trip, especially for a big event, there’s an expectation you’ll know where they are, what they’re doing, and what kind of example you’re setting when they mess up.
“Maybe You Steal Stuff In Philadelphia…”
Judd also used the case to draw a blunt contrast between how he says his county handles crime and how he views law enforcement in other places.
In comments highlighted by The Daily Caller, he suggested that what might slide in a big city up north won’t fly in Polk County.
“Maybe you steal stuff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and get away with it,” Judd said. “If you come here to Polk County and steal, there’s no notices to appear. There’s no warnings. You’re in handcuffs and taken to the county jail or taken to juvenile lockup. Period.”
It’s a provocative line, and it plays right into the broader political divide over crime and punishment.
On one side, you have arguments about diversion programs, second chances and the long-term impact of saddling teenagers with felony records; on the other, you have sheriffs like Judd insisting that the only real deterrent is swift, serious consequences.
To be fair, nothing in the NBC10 reporting suggests Philadelphia police would simply shrug at a $2,296 theft case either.
But Judd’s point is less about case law and more about culture: in his county, as he puts it, “If you steal, we’re your worst enemy.”
My own view is that both things can be true at once.
You can think these teens made an incredibly bad decision, one that deserved real consequences, and still worry about whether the long-term fallout of felony charges for 14- and 15-year-olds will follow them into adulthood in ways that go far beyond a lost championship.
A Hard Lesson In Accountability
According to DeLucia, all eight teens were taken to a juvenile detention center and now face two felony counts each: retail theft over $750 and conspiracy to commit retail theft.
NBC10 also notes that attempts to reach the United Thoroughbreds organization through its website for comment have so far gone unanswered.
The law is clear on the facts as presented by both NBC10 and The Daily Caller: this wasn’t a misunderstanding at the register or a forgotten item at the bottom of a cart.
It was, if the allegations are accurate, a coordinated plan to walk out with nearly $2,300 in unpaid merchandise.
At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore the human side.
These are teenagers who had worked hard enough to reach a championship game, then threw that opportunity away in a matter of minutes for some shirts, gloves, and sports apparel.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that this story will now be told in every locker room and team meeting where coaches want to talk about choices and consequences.
Hearing Sheriff Judd say, “You didn’t see eight kids from Polk County in a store this weekend stealing, did you?” is going to stick in a lot of minds.
In the end, the title of the Daily Caller video captures the mood: “Philly Teens Learn The Hard Way NOT To Steal In Florida.”
The lesson is bigger than geography. Whether you’re in Philadelphia, Polk County, or anywhere else, a championship season can vanish in a single bad decision – and the justice system doesn’t care how many touchdowns you scored.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
