Youth football is usually about touchdowns, teamwork, and parents screaming from the sidelines like the Super Bowl depends on a 10-year-old’s passing game. But one Texas football program suddenly found itself dealing with a situation no coach’s playbook could prepare for.
A respected youth football organization in Texas has parted ways with coach Steve Powers after learning about his family’s connection to a shocking New York City sex trafficking investigation involving his wife, Jennifer Powers.
The decision came after leadership reviewed the situation and decided the controversy was too serious for the coach to remain involved with the program. In youth sports, reputation is everything. One minute you are drawing up plays, the next minute you are answering questions nobody expected to hear.
On Sunday, DYF President Andrew Greever announced that youth coach Steve Powers would be relieved of his duties, which involved oversight of two grade levels within the program, due to his wife’s ties to an FBI case. The move comes 11 months after Powers’ wife was relieved from her duties as a substitute teacher in the area. WatchKeep’s Amy Smith was the first to report Steve Powers’ dismissal.
Steve Powers’ wife, Jennifer Powers, along with retired New York-based financier Howard Rubin, in Sept. 2025 were arrested and charged with sex trafficking and the transportation of women for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts. Powers had operated as Rubin’s personal assistant since 2011.
“After conducting an additional review, we have determined that the individual will no longer serve as a coach within Dragon Youth Football,” Greever said in a message sent to parents of Dragon football players, a copy of which Chron obtained. “Please note that this decision has been made before any team activities or practices. The safety, well-being, and trust of our players and families remain our highest priorities.”
The football program’s decision shows how seriously youth organizations take their public image and responsibility toward families. When children are involved, leaders often choose caution over waiting for the situation to become even bigger.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the defendants allegedly arranged for women to travel to a sex “dungeon” in a New York City penthouse, where Rubin “exceeded the limits of their consent by violently abusing them.”
Rubin was also charged with bank fraud in connection with misrepresentations made to a bank in the course of financing Powers’s mortgage for her Texas home. According to the statement, Rubin and Jennifer Powers allegedly spent at least $1 million to finance the commercial sexual torture of multiple women through a national trafficking network, allegedly ensnaring their victims, abusing them, and then silencing outcries with threats of legal action.
For now, the focus remains on the legal case and its aftermath.
