Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant

June 13, 2008 — -- A group that promotes leadership through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."

The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites with groups connected to the Bush White House. ABC News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this week on "Nightline".

A Congressional committee is expected to hold hearings on the subject next week.

The National Football Foundation (NFF), formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official who awarded the money.

"I wouldn't know Flores if I bumped into him. We should not be lumped in with the other groups that did appear to have political connections," said NFF President Steven J. Hatchell.

Hatchell said that 96 percent of the students in the program, a majority of whom are minorities who come from low-income homes, graduate high school and 81 percent go on to college.

"We go into inner city schools and help kids who really need it," said Hatchell.

Some OJJDP staffers said this program did not deserve the funding.

"The football program, like the World Golf Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said.

The staffer added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that shows this program targets the most at-risk kids.

NFF said that by establishing programs at inner city schools, including Native American schools, it does target at-risk kids.