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Wells to file complaint against Yakima By KRIS HENRY Fallout from last Friday's Southern Oregon-Yakima indoor football game won't be fully felt for another week thanks to pending action by both teams. Southern Oregon Heat owner Kevin Wells said Saturday that he was in the process of writing a formal letter of complaint to the National Indoor Football League for the way his team and new co-head coach Larry Jobe were treated by the Shockwave organization on Friday. In yet another he-said-he said tale, Wells said he had learned that Yakima officials were planning to file a formal complaint with the league against Jobe. Shockwave officials were unavailable for comment. "It was ugly," Wells said of Friday's treatment by Shockwave officials. "I'm pretty sickened about the whole thing because this is not how the league is supposed to be." Wells said the poor treatment started from the moment his team arrived in Yakima and lasted up to the bitter end when escorts were needed to ensure safety for all involved. "They weren't cooperative with anything we needed or requested," said Wells. Wells alleged, in part, that his team wasn't allowed access to the SunDome until league officials were called. Equipment such as footballs, tape, etc. was not readily made available and the Heat was given roughly half the time usually allotted for a pre-game practice. "They wouldn't even let us have practice balls for the game," said Wells. "They thought Larry was going to take them home or something." In contrast, when the Shockwave were in Medford for the season-opener on March 28, Wells said Heat officials worked around Yakima's practice demands, provided a game-time meal and even picked up a hotel bill for post-game showers since the Inferno does not have those facilities. Things only got worse from there, according to Wells, who said Yakima's public address announcer spent the better part of the night attacking Jobe. "They were doing things for public degradation," said Wells. "I think the nicest thing they said all night was 'This temper tantrum by coach Jobe brought to you by Pampers.' It was pretty brutal and unprofessional, and it lasted the entire night." Wells also disputes an accusation made by Shockwave general manager Rich Austin, who alleged in Saturday's Yakima-Herald newspaper that Jobe tried to start fights with Shockwave personnel on Friday. "Their GM (Austin) has a thing against Larry," said Wells. "He was completely unprofessional in how he handled things." Wells alleged that Austin and members of the Shockwave were the aggressors in a post-game confrontation that led to Jobe being shoved and Wells being thrown aside when trying to act as peacemaker. "I wish my guys would have handled it a little better and kept their cool a little better," said Wells, "but there were some pretty good instigations going on." None of the unfortunate actions involved fans at the SunDome or either team's players. Current Yakima safety and former Heat head coach Brett Wells said comments made during the game between players or coaches were only in the spirit of competition. Brett Wells, no relation to the Heat owner, said his concentration on the game filtered out any PA announcements but he was later told by his girlfriend of the constant Jobe-bashing. "If all the stuff I later heard about happened, then I can't back that up as a positive," he said. "I don't think that's very professional. Some people might find that hilarious but I find that wrong. That's bush league stuff." Brett Wells said he only saw the latter stages of the post-game confrontation, but thought both sides could have conducted themselves more professionally. "I think it went both ways and Larry was just defending his honor," he said. "When it's one against 100 or thousands, I can't blame Larry. It's kind of tough to stand there and take it. I don't know if he's right or wrong, but I don't know if I blame him for what happened." For Kevin and Brett Wells, their differences were patched up with a post-game handshake and acknowledgment that each wished their early-season situation had turned out differently. "I don't have a bad word to say about Larry or Kevin," said Brett Wells. "They both have enabled me to play (in the NIFL). No disrespect to (Heat co-head coach Eric Vanderwegen), but I think Medford's got a good man in charge with Larry." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.