Philadelphia Democrats have turned their once-proud city into a crime-ridden disaster zone where criminals get released on low bail and prosecutors refuse to hold anyone accountable.
Eight teenage football players from the City of Brotherly Love just learned the hard way that the rest of America doesn't operate like their lawless hometown.
And Florida Sheriff Grady Judd just taught these Philadelphia teens one lesson they'll never forget.
Philadelphia youth football team picks the wrong state for crime spree
Eight players from Philadelphia's United Thoroughbreds youth football team traveled to Polk County, Florida for the Prolifix Sportz National Championship on December 6.
But instead of focusing on the game, these 14 and 15-year-olds decided to take an Uber to Dick's Sporting Goods in Davenport and help themselves to over $2,000 worth of merchandise.
The teenagers — Daimon Johnson, Elijah Myers, Ibn-Mahdee Abdul-Haqq, Jacob Smith, Marcus Hudgens, Mark Bryan, Tymir Smith, and Tymir Speller — allegedly coordinated a systematic theft operation captured on store surveillance cameras.
One player made a small purchase to get a legitimate Dick's shopping bag, then met up with the others inside the store where they stuffed 47 items worth $2,296.07 into bags and down their pants.¹
The stolen goods included a $135 Nike hoodie, a $125 Nike women's running jacket, two $110 Under Armour hoodies, and football equipment like $70 gloves and flavored mouthguards.²
Deputies were waiting when the group tried to walk out of the store.
Their arrests meant they missed the championship game hours later, and their team lost to Florida's Cocoa Tigers 26-6.³
Sheriff Grady Judd delivers devastating message to Philadelphia
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd — known for his no-nonsense approach to crime — held a press conference Monday that became a national sensation.
And he didn't hold back.
"I don't know if these were starters or not, but we were finishers," Judd said. "We arrested them."⁴
Then Judd took direct aim at Philadelphia's soft-on-crime policies.
"You look at the Thoroughbreds, and you find out what were they doing on Saturday morning? They Ubered from where they were staying, down to the Dick's Sporting Goods," Judd explained. "Not only did they Uber down there to shop, they had no intentions of paying for their product."⁵
The teenagers' coach, Raekwon Bynes, rushed to the store and began pleading with deputies not to arrest the players.
"The coach who is responsible for them, you'd think he would be interested in holding them accountable and responsible," Judd stated. "Instead, he goes to the deputies and begs them not to take these young men into custody."⁶
When it became clear the arrests would proceed, the coach allegedly asked deputies, "Don't you guys have anything better to do than arrest these kids?"
Judd's response cut right to the heart of the matter.
"I don't know how you do things in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in Polk County, Florida, we lock you up for stealing, for being a thief," Judd declared.⁷
https://twitter.com/PolkCoSheriff/status/1998450264487960860?s=20
He called the coach "the ultimate loser" and added, "You're way off base here buddy. Way off base. If you'd been coaching these kids up right, if you knew where they were, if you didn't allow them to Uber away, they would have played in a ball game Saturday night."⁸
Judd noted that Polk County has 850,000 residents but crime is at a 53-year low.
"You didn't see eight kids from Polk County in a store this weekend stealing, did you?" Judd asked.⁹
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis jumped into the fray by sharing video of Judd's press conference on social media.
"They picked the wrong state — and the wrong county," DeSantis wrote.¹⁰
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1998247856441065475?s=20
The Philadelphia difference nobody wants to talk about
The contrast between Polk County and Philadelphia couldn't be starker.
Judd has served as sheriff since 2005 and was just re-elected to his sixth term with over 83% of the vote — making him the first sheriff in Polk County history to serve that many terms.
Crime in his county is at its lowest point in 53 years.¹¹
Philadelphia tells a completely different story.
The city is run by George Soros-backed District Attorney Larry Krasner, who has made a career out of being soft on crime while prosecuting police officers.
Krasner implements policies that reduce bail to absurdly low levels, refuses to appeal when judges set bail even lower, and focuses resources on "restorative justice" programs instead of putting criminals behind bars.
His approach has been catastrophic.
Just last month, a 23-year-old beauty queen named Kada Scott was found murdered in a shallow grave behind an abandoned Philadelphia school.
Her alleged killer, 21-year-old Keon King, was a career criminal who should have been in jail.
Earlier in 2025, Krasner's office dropped kidnapping and assault charges against King after a witness failed to show up in court — then let him out on just $20,000 bond despite prosecutors initially requesting $1 million because of the "violent nature" of the charges.¹²
King is now charged with Scott's murder.
If Krasner had done his job, Kada Scott would still be alive.
These eight Philadelphia teenagers had no criminal records before their Florida arrests.¹³
But they grew up in a city where the message from the top is clear: crime has no consequences.
Sheriff Judd made sure they learned a different lesson.
All eight face felony charges for retail theft over $750 and conspiracy to commit retail theft, and they'll have to return to Florida from Philadelphia to face those charges.¹⁴
Philadelphia can keep its soft-on-crime prosecutors and revolving door jails.
The rest of America is done playing that game.
¹ Michelle Vecerina, "Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd rips Philadelphia youth football team after eight players arrested for retail theft," FL Voice News, December 9, 2025.
² Nicholas McEntyre, "8 Philadelphia youth football players caught stealing over $2K worth of merch from Florida Dick's Sporting Goods," New York Post, December 10, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Vecerina, FL Voice News.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ McEntyre, New York Post.
⁹ Vecerina, FL Voice News.
¹⁰ Mason Leath, "Teen football players arrested after alleged $2K Dick's Sporting Goods theft," ABC News, December 9, 2025.
¹¹ Tampa Free Press, "Polk County Sheriff Challenges Pennsylvania After 8 Teen Football Players Arrested In Florida," December 9, 2025.
¹² Amy Curtis, "Soft-on-Crime Philly DA Larry Krasner Let a Predator Walk—Now a Beauty Queen Is Dead," Townhall, October 21, 2025.
¹³ Vecerina, FL Voice News.
¹⁴ Leath, ABC News.
