CARLSBAD — Sarah Publico, a coach with Carlsbad Pop Warner, thought she was acting responsibly by pulling her cheerleaders off the field on Oct. 3.
Temperatures reached 104 degrees that day at nearby McClellan-Palomar Airport, according to Weather Underground.
After hearing that a 7-year-old had become ill during a 9 a.m. game at Sage Creek High School’s football field, Publico decided to pull the other three cheerleading teams, she told CBS 8.
“In my mind, I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said in the television interview.
Publico said West Coast Conference Pop Warner considered the withdrawal a forfeit for the cheer program. As a result, she said, the Carlsbad squads would be ineligible to advance to a regional competition despite having already qualified.
“It’s just very upsetting,” Publico said. “And to get these people to actually sign up for Pop Warner again would be a miracle at this point for how this was handled. We should not have a consequence, especially when adults are making decisions to protect children.”
WCC Pop Warner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Parents and other community members have expressed concern and frustration over how Publico and her teams were treated.
Councilmember Kevin Shin sent a letter saying that because one child had already experienced heat-related health issues and temperatures were expected to rise, “coaches and parents made the decision to prioritize the health and safety of their children.”
“Rather than supporting that decision, WCC reportedly characterized the withdrawal as a forfeiture, resulting in disciplinary consequences for the participating teams,” Shin wrote. “I find this deeply concerning unless a more plausible explanation can be addressed.”
Shin also asked WCC for a description of its extreme-heat policies and confirmation that it would conduct a disciplinary hearing impartially.
“I recognize that WCC has legitimate authority to establish and enforce standards of conduct,” Shin wrote. “However, that authority carries a responsibility to exercise sound judgment, apply rules consistently, and distinguish genuine misconduct from good-faith criticism.”
