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Outlaws Coach Responds

November 5, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Billings Outlaws News Release


To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to take a couple of moments to express my thoughts and concerns with regard to the recent events surrounding former Billings Outlaws players and coaches.

I am very disappointed that the Outlaws organization is being brought into this unfortunate situation.

The Billings Outlaws are committed to being good examples in the Billings community and we have worked VERY hard to earn the love and respect of our fans.

The former players that have been charged in this case have not played for the Outlaws for some time. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that we recruit athletes with good personal character. Outlaws GM Adam Steadman and I instituted a "zero tolerance" policy about a year ago and every player on our team is expected to abide by our code of conduct. We have established significant fines for violations and we require players to sign a contract that outlines our expectations.

It was obvious to many that we fielded a largely rookie team this year. When we made the decision to move to a "zero tolerance" disciplinary model, we looked at our roster to determine who would fit and who needed to be replaced. This resulted in a handful of veterans returning to our team this season while we replaced the rest with individuals we believed to be strong athletes of good moral character. These decisions helped us to achieve a nearly incident free 2009 season.

I am very disappointed in the alleged involvement of former, part-time coaches Robert Reed and Chase Raynock. As painful as it is to see them in this situation, I can't pass personal judgment until this issue is resolved through the legal system. I can say that they are not currently on our coaching staff, nor were they being considered for positions in the 2010 season.

I hope that the Billings community will see that these actions were carried out by individuals, not an organization.

Finally, I want to reiterate the fact that, despite court documents and media reports to the contrary, there are NO current Outlaw players or coaches implicated in these charges.

Please direct any further inquiries to our General Manager, Adam Steadman. He can be reached at (406) 690-0744.

Sincerely,

Heron O'Neal

Billings Outlaws - Head Coach



Indoor Football League Stories from November 5, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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