Over $12,000 in equipment stolen from south suburban Chicago youth football team
This all happened weeks before the start of the season.
The storage container for the Robbins CalPark Eagles sits off a main road in empty lot right next to a school, where the team's president says police are looking into surveillance cameras facing toward the lot.
"We started rallying, started coming over to find out somebody had basically pried the lock off one of the doors and went in there," said Glen Hampton, president of the Robbins CalPark Eagles.
Hampton said more than $12,000 in equipment was stolen from the storage unit sometime Saturday night. He said the team has no idea who did it or why.
"They scrounged through the equipment, and they were very selective in what they took," said Hampton. "Helmets and shoulder pads, primarily. And then they also took some, you know, training equipment."
A hit like this is a first for the program that serves over 280 kids and has been around for over 40 years.
"And now I have no equipment to put on them," said Hampton. "The season starts in just over two weeks."
It is a real concern for 10-year-old Eagles football players Blake Ross and Ezekiel Tolbert.
"Our season is about to start," said Blake. "What are we going to do?"
Given the circumstances, the team is staying positive and hopeful for another undefeated season ahead.
"We're going to go 9-and-0 this year — same thing," said Ezekiel. "We're going to repeat it."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the teams get equipment before the season starts in a few weeks.
"We're disappointed, I mean, that somebody would go to this level," added Hampton. "The Eagles will fly high again."
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