Background Checks

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Have fun officiating with Charles Manson.

Mark, this kind of hyperbole doens't serve this discussion well. As mbyron indicates, the manslaughter charge is pretty vague and can emcompass any number of things that may or may not show poor character rather than a momentary lapse in judgment.

20 year old college kid gets drunk, drives, and causes a fatal accident. He serves time for vehicular manslaughter. You going to exclude him from officiating?

Similar kid gets into a bar fight defending a date, uses too much force and gets charged by an overzealous prosecutor and convicted for whatever reason. He spends 10 years in prison for manslaughter. You going to exclude him from officiating on that basis alone?

I think we can all agree that Manson would never be allowed to officiate, his demeanor would disqualify him immediately. That's the other part of this no one has brought up yet. These non-sexual offenses should not be, IMO, strict deal breakers. The people we're talking about will either have reformed or not, and as long as they're not working in a vacuum, that will come out.

My next question is this, what do you expect someone with a manslaughter conviction to do on the court (or in the locker room) that would endanger the kids?

Like I said, I can see looking at that with a teacher or a coach; but officials just aren't in a position for this stuff to matter.