All-Star Md Gymnastics Instructor Arrested....

[catlady]

I don't expect this person to be fired at all. We respond in threads like this with blanket morality, but the reality is that there are such things as wrongful termination and misunderstanding. I'm not saying this is one, but unless the gym has a "no no appropriate comments" policy with zero tolerance then I would expect a reprimand from the gym owner or a supervisor if there is one. If this person has a previous history of reprimand and written warning then the gym has clear termination justification.

This is also unrealistic so let me throw out situations that I know are out there in the cheer world:
- coach escorts athletes to hang out with people from other teams at travel competition and they get back much later than the party ended
- coach provides alcohol (may or may not be same situation)
- coach makes overly personal non-cheer related advances on social media
- rumors of popular tumbling coach and teenage athletes having sex
- coach asking kids for pain killers because they just ran out
- coach is a known current or previous drug user
- coaches drinking and letting kids be around (and parent may or may not know it)
- parents drinking and letting kids be around

Before we levy blanket morality remember there are various levels of gray before you get to the point of illegal. Many gyms claim they are family and act like it.

I can only speak from the work environment that I'm used to but, we were told what was inappropriate behavior and had to go to yearly refresher seminars not only to protect our company legally but, also ourselves from being sued. "Hey you look sexy....", would be considered sexual harassment. The person on the other end may or may not mind, and since it could be unwelcome, you would be fired. Alcohol to a minor, fired. Prescription drugs to adult or child, fired. Advances on social media to a minor or co-worker welcome or not, fired. Advances in private to co-worker (unwanted) or minor (any time), fired and if a minor, reported to the police. I am the parent that wants our kids to have healthy coach-athlete relationships and I don't mind coaches contacting my kids. If the coaches are drinking on their off time and my kids are around, they are my responsibility and that's on me. If the coach is drunk and does something inappropriate with a child, that's on them. If I'm drinking around kids that I'm responsible for and something happens, that's on me.

In court, you are either found guilty or not, there is no gray area. When someone is a friend or close co-worker, personal emotions will cloud your judgment every time. The police will tell you if they feel they need to get involved, it's not a permanent record, it's a phone call and you took the appropriate measures to protect the child, yourself and your business.

 

[creator13]

When Jared Fogle got beat up in prison, I tried to figure out how to put $100 on that guy's commissary account to get all the snacks and sodas his heart desired as a thank you.

This article has that inmates name.
Thank god federal prisoners have to serve at least 85% of their sentence, even with good behavior....still 13 years does not seem like enough....he could be back on the streets and living a lavish lifestyle by the time he turns 50.....victims should have received more than 100k.
Jared Fogle targeted for prison beating because he 'hired inmates as bodyguards' | Daily Mail Online

 

[creator13]

If you're asking if this is an unusual number of incidents, sadly no.

It's the first I've heard of in 17 years where it's someone around cheer (in this case gymnastics tumbling) that is involved in child pornography. It is very typical to have a cheer coach/athlete sexual exploitation case though.

If you pay attention to the news this happens all over the country. I see at least 1 a week and sometimes multiple each week amongst all the forms of cheer and I am aware that many go unreported.

I feel like every season a coach from the cheer/gymnastics world gets charged for a sex crime. not saying eithe is related....just haunting to think about

Another sex crime from this year
Cheerleading coach sentenced for sex crimes against teen | News - Home

2015:
North Carolina cheerleading coach arrested for alleged sexual assault of minors | WTKR.com

2014:
51-year-old cheer coach charged with sexual abuse of underage prostitute | WGN-TV

2013:
Katy coach accused in sex assault of cheerleading student - Houston Chronicle

2012:
Megan Crafton, Cheerleading Coach, Allegedly Had Oral Sex With Indiana High School Basketball Player


edited to add dates and links

 

[Official OWECheer]

@BlueCat IMO when it happens in a crowded lobby, it is a poor choice, you have several witnesses and they need to be fired but, not police worthy. If, however, that same coach gay or straight, is making those comments via text or someone hears him say it quietly, the police need to be involved.

@Official OWECheer Gay or straight does not matter because, trafficking and exploiting does not require a certain orientation. I encourage parents to Google stories on trafficking because, many are not about girls being snatched off the street. Many of them are blackmail stories, with the child still living with the parents. There is a whole new twisted evil going on and growing rapidly.

@tuckxandxtwist IMO, yes because, the gym attempted to protect the child and their business from further issues.

I made the comment because while anyone can be a predator regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, etc. those traits can and do alter the public's perception of that person.

 

[SharkDad]

@catlady your examples are all from larger companies that do the right thing to provide training ahead of time to protect the company, it's employees, and the customers. Most gyms are small business and don't get to this level unless it's as a lesson learned. The industry as a whole has no incentive to change or require the majority to have a minimum level of safety. There are many gyms and companies out there that do, but not the entire industry.

@creator13 it's much more often than 1 per season

 

[randomactsofcheer]

@catlady your examples are all from larger companies that do the right thing to provide training ahead of time to protect the company, it's employees, and the customers. Most gyms are small business and don't get to this level unless it's as a lesson learned. The industry as a whole has no incentive to change or require the majority to have a minimum level of safety. There are many gyms and companies out there that do, but not the entire industry.

@creator13 it's much more often than 1 per season

I agree. It seems the line between appropriate and inappropriate is blurred for many gyms. I don't think the majority of the scenarios you listed are appropriate, with the exception of parents drinking and coaches who are recovering drug addicts/alcoholics. I am not okay with parents drinking in what I consider an inappropriate/unhealthy manner (taking shots, drinking until belligerent/stumbling/slurring) around children that are not their own. And I think that a coach with a previous drug addiction is okay, as long as their drug habits are in the past and they are very stable in their recovery.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I don't expect this person to be fired at all. We respond in threads like this with blanket morality, but the reality is that there are such things as wrongful termination and misunderstanding. I'm not saying this is one, but unless the gym has a "no no appropriate comments" policy with zero tolerance then I would expect a reprimand from the gym owner or a supervisor if there is one. If this person has a previous history of reprimand and written warning then the gym has clear termination justification.

This is also unrealistic so let me throw out situations that I know are out there in the cheer world:
- coach escorts athletes to hang out with people from other teams at travel competition and they get back much later than the party ended
- coach provides alcohol (may or may not be same situation)
- coach makes overly personal non-cheer related advances on social media
- rumors of popular tumbling coach and teenage athletes having sex
- coach asking kids for pain killers because they just ran out
- coach is a known current or previous drug user
- coaches drinking and letting kids be around (and parent may or may not know it)
- parents drinking and letting kids be around

Before we levy blanket morality remember there are various levels of gray before you get to the point of illegal. Many gyms claim they are family and act like it.

Yes!

I have said this before, but Billy Bob is not your kid's cool older brother/daddy/brother/cousin.

Stop letting them act like it.

 

[getsum]

I feel like every season a coach from the cheer/gymnastics world gets charged for a sex crime. not saying eithe is related....just haunting to think about

Another sex crime from this year
Cheerleading coach sentenced for sex crimes against teen | News - Home

2015:
North Carolina cheerleading coach arrested for alleged sexual assault of minors | WTKR.com

2014:
51-year-old cheer coach charged with sexual abuse of underage prostitute | WGN-TV

2013:
Katy coach accused in sex assault of cheerleading student - Houston Chronicle

2012:
Megan Crafton, Cheerleading Coach, Allegedly Had Oral Sex With Indiana High School Basketball Player


edited to add dates and links

i have found convictions/sentencing for some:

2012
Plea deal entered for former Shelbyville coach accused of having relations with teen | Fox 59

2013
PHILLIPS, DEVINCENT SHOROD Inmate 05031852: Texas Prisons (DOC)

2014
Former cheerleading coach gets probation for sex with teen | The Herald-News

 

[Beans100]

In terms of gyms playing by a "we are family" type code, sexual harassment/innappropriate comments/ unwarranted rides/ late night parties etc are still off limits. Last time I checked, my family doesn't play by those rules. Never in a million years would my dad tell me I looked sexy in a dress. My brother isn't going to help me glue on a "sports bra" or whatever. When I was a minor, my parents weren't cool with me just grabbing a ride without telling them a plan. If my dad was going to pick me up instead of my mom, they had to communicate that. And, we definitely weren't going out for late night ice-cream runs.

 

[nicolee]

Again, I don't want to necessarily defend the gym because I don't know exactly what did/didn't happen. However, we don't know what prompted the firing.

In the interest of getting more discussion going, and hopefully helping prevent further incidents from happening at other gyms, I would like y'alls opinion of a hypothetical. (This hasn't happened anywhere that I know of, just trying to think of a scenario close to the dividing line.) A 21 year old male coach tells a 17 year old female athlete they "look really sexy in that outfit" in a crowded lobby. I imagine that gets them fired pretty much on the spot and the parents of the athlete brought in for a discussion at minimum. If that were the only thing like that that had happened, do you call the police?

This is a tough one.
I agree with other comments made that a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old could very well be in a consensual, legal relationship. The difference is that the coach here is in a position of responsibility, which introduces another issue to the situation. Much in the same way that a teacher having a relationship with a student, even a senior aged 18, would be highly inappropriate and grounds for dismissal.

But in this scenario, I don't see any grounds to call the police, as it doesn't seem that any crime has occurred here. Even if someone wanted to involve the police pre-emptively, anticipating that something untoward might happen in the future, the police still wouldn't have any reason to investigate. It also might not even be grounds for immediate dismissal. This guy could easily argue that he was simply complimenting the athlete, but accidentally used an unfortunate word. I think a reprimand (and monitoring him closely for a bit) is an appropriate step.

Involving the police is a big step, and could ruin someone's life. It's just important to be sure that something bad is happening before taking that step.

 

[NJ Coach]

Involving the police is a big step, and could ruin someone's life. It's just important to be sure that something bad is happening before taking that step.

Coaches are mandated reporters. If they have knowledge of or suspect abuse, they must report it.

 

[mamabear]

Coaches are mandated reporters. If they have knowledge of or suspect abuse, they must report it.

even in private gyms? For some reason, I thought it was just in schools.

 

[Cheer Dad]

Let's toss another hypothetical in there.

Male coach accidentally grabs a female tumbler/flyer on the breast while trying to catch her and prevent her head from hitting the floor. Contact is extremely incidental and corrected immediately. Child is not groped in a sexual way at all and thinks nothing of it. Mom hears what happened and demands his firing and the police be called?

Should he be fired and police involved?


**Slip n Slide. Official sponsor of Worlds 2016**

 

[randomactsofcheer]

even in private gyms? For some reason, I thought it was just in schools.

Mandated reporting laws vary from state to state. When I was a nanny in California, I was not a mandated reporter (which I found to be strange). In Florida, everyone is a mandated reporter.

 

[amy1k]

Let's toss another hypothetical in there.

Male coach accidentally grabs a female tumbler/flyer on the breast while trying to catch her and prevent her head from hitting the floor. Contact is extremely incidental and corrected immediately. Child is not groped in a sexual way at all and thinks nothing of it. Mom hears what happened and demands his firing and the police be called?

Should he be fired and police involved?


**Slip n Slide. Official sponsor of Worlds 2016**

Mom is obnoxious. Accidents happen.