Any creepy referees in Denver area?

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by amusedofficial

Background checks for officials is a solution in search of a problem.

We aren't alone with kids.

But we're close enough to them and can be around them enough to gain their trust....and perhaps turn that into something more. It has happened here and will happen again. It would have happened near here had our neighboring organization not done such a check....that prevented the person that got caught in our our from joining a different one. When it happens to someone you know, you'll wonder why the organization didn't bother to require a simple and cheap criminal history check that likely would have shown the offender to have a history. It doesn't have to be a through and expensive check...the basc checks are enough.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

But we're close enough to them and can be around them enough to gain their trust....and perhaps turn that into something more. It has happened here and will happen again. It would have happened near here had our neighboring organization not done such a check....that prevented the person that got caught in our our from joining a different one. When it happens to someone you know, you'll wonder why the organization didn't bother to require a simple and cheap criminal history check that likely would have shown the offender to have a history. It doesn't have to be a through and expensive check...the basc checks are enough.

Yeah we are around kids, but we do not have necessarily more access to kids than fans or other people that are at a school. Better yet if the school does the right things we are not in any actual person contact with students except on the playing surface area. All the sex offense cases that involved an official that I have heard was never surrounding the games, but some off site situation that often did not involve the sport the person was officiating. I have no problem with background checks on many levels, but think some of this is over stated how important they are to actually protecting kids. There are by far more teachers sleeping with kids than officials.

Peace

[Adam]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Yeah we are around kids, but we do not have necessarily more access to kids than fans or other people that are at a school. Better yet if the school does the right things we are not in any actual person contact with students except on the playing surface area. All the sex offense cases that involved an official that I have heard was never surrounding the games, but some off site situation that often did not involve the sport the person was officiating. I have no problem with background checks on many levels, but think some of this is over stated how important they are to actually protecting kids. There are by far more teachers sleeping with kids than officials.

Peace

My biggest fear is that the schools, and parents, will somehow see background checks as a great and successful measure. This is the danger in doing "something." A better option, IMO, would be as Jeff suggests here and just ensuring that officials don't have unsupervised access to kids on school property.

How many times have we had kids walk into our dressing areas to get something for coach, or to pick up some homework they left in that office?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Adam

My biggest fear is that the schools, and parents, will somehow see background checks as a great and successful measure. This is the danger in doing "something." A better option, IMO, would be as Jeff suggests here and just ensuring that officials don't have unsupervised access to kids on school property.

How many times have we had kids walk into our dressing areas to get something for coach, or to pick up some homework they left in that office?

I had a young lady walk into a locker room (girl's locker room) where a bunch of men were literally about to take off their pants when she walked in on us for some Saturday morning games. There was about 6 or us in the room and this girl just walks up in the locker room like it was nothing. That was IMO the fault of the school, not us. And if the right situation took place, we would have been accused of something inappropriate that we did not do. The guy in the OP was accused of something out in the open; I can only imagine what would have been the tenor if that situation where the young lady walked into our locker room and accused someone of doing something to her. And we had no video tape to back us up. And no one noticed so much in the OP story that authorities had to review the tape.

I think we have a solution clearly looking for a problem if people feel this will prevent all interactions that would be deemed inappropriate with officials.

Peace

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

But we're close enough to them and can be around them enough to gain their trust....and perhaps turn that into something more.

So is any person who regularly buys a ticket at the door and attends HS games.
They can sit courtside all season at most gyms without difficulty.

Should the schools being asking fans to sign up for an approved spectator list? Perhaps there can be a sort of TSA approved frequent fan admittance line!

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

So is any person who regularly buys a ticket at the door and attends HS games.
They can sit courtside all season at most gyms without difficulty.

Yep, the local sports fans are more involved with players and students than an official who might see the same players two or three times a year.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Adam

Yep, the local sports fans are more involved with players and students than an official who might see the same players two or three times a year.

I just went to a Coach's Hall of Fame Dinner where coaches, players, officials and fans of the game were inducted into the HOF. I can tell you that many of those people that were not officials had a bigger impact or knowledge of the kids that play than any of the officials in our current role.

Peace