Former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart is in a football controversy, and no, it doesn’t have to do with a battle for the starting quarterback position. Instead, Leinart is in some hot water for using his charity’s non-profit status to secure fields for his flag football league at a discounted rate.
The Orange County Register reports that Leinart’s brother, Ryan, who runs the Matt Leinart Flag Football League, admitted to using his brother’s charity to get the fields for cheap. The problem is the flag football league is run for profit, while the Matt Leinart Foundation is a non-profit organization.
Ryan Leinart even admitted as much.
“What we found is that most cities require a 501(c)(3) in order to rent their fields,” Ryan Leinart told the Register. “We talked with our legal counsel and were advised that it was OK to proceed with the foundation lending its non-profit status to the Matt Leinart Flag Football League. Because the foundation’s mission is to provide opportunities for youth to get involved in sports, we felt that by using our non-profit status in this manner, we were fulfilling our mission.”
The OC Register says that by using the foundation’s non-profit status, they were able to get access to fields they normally would not have. They also saved around $50,000 over a three-month period of using fields in Costa Mesa, Calif., for example.
Costa Mesa’s mayor and other officials reportedly disregarded city rules in allowing Leinart to use the field at a discounted rate. The issue was so contentious that one parks and recreation director resigned after being pressured to allow the Leinarts access to fields.
What Leinart is up to is not exactly a secret. In fact, the OC Register says one school stopped granting the league use of their fields because of their for-profit status.
Leinart’s flag football league was started in 2011 and registered through the state as an LLC. It costs $170 per player, and they also run camps and academies for players. It’s pretty clear that they are trying to profit.
Ryan Leinart told the Register that they will not use the charity to secure the fields in the future, but the paper points out that the ex-USC’s brother sent a letter to the Costa Mesa City Council requesting an extension where they could continue using the non-profit status for another year — a clear contradiction.
Matt Leinart has not commented on the matter via his social media accounts. The Santa Ana native was a first-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2006 and was last cut by the Buffalo Bills two years ago. In addition to running his flag football league, he enjoys playing pickup basketball games.
