Youth American football team 'paid children to injure opponents' Prominent current stars, including the New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the NFL's highest paid player, has said he would be hesitant to let his son play the sport because of the risk of brain injuries. The claims surround a man named Darren Crawford, the head coach of the Tustin Junior Pee Wee Red Cobras, from suburban Los Angeles. He was accused by John Zanelli, a former assistant coach who had been kicked off the team after an argument with club officials. Mr Zanelli claims that the practice began with players being paid for hard hitting tackles but evolved into deliberately targeting star players of other teams and attempting to injure them to the point they could not continue. The payments are alleged to have been made in 2011 when the Cobras went undefeated before losing at the Pop Warner Super Bowl - junior football's most prestigious prize. Mr Crawford, who has been suspended pending the investigation, has strenuously denied the allegations. In an email reported by the Wall Street Journal, he wrote: "I have never paid a player to go out and hurt another player period, end of story." Pat Galentine, the team president, has also been suspended. He too denies the charges. The allegations have surprised those within the organisation. Asked if he had ever come across a similar case within youth football, Jon Butler, the executive director of Pop Warner football, said: "Never. I've been asked that question several times, and my response to myself is, 'Just when you think you've been doing this long enough that you think that you've seen it all ... This is a first for any of us'. The scandal first came to light earlier this summer when the local league in California, the Orange Empire Conference, held a hearing but said no disciplinary action was warranted due to conflicting testimony - essentially several youngsters said it did not happen while only one testified that it did. But, Mr Butler says, new information has since emerged which warrant another look at the allegations. "At this point, according to some of the local media sources, they're saying there are now six boys who'd say that it did happen," he said. We still have conflicting testimony, but it sounds like a much more strong position on the one side than was heard at the hearing. Mr Butler said that if the allegations are found to be true then the coaches involved could be banned for life. The damage to the Pop Warner league's reputation may be similarly long-lasting, he admitted.