OT Athlete A

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do people make mistakes, yes. Can people learn from those mistakes and improve, yes. He did serve time in which the state handed to him, and probably served his probation period without incident. But here is where im torn, if he served time i would imagine the jail time would be public record. And i would imagine the USASF and cheer programs look into that before hand or at least i would hope so (or maybe not). Im really not a fan of the cancel culture we are living in. Digging for things from years ago and using it to destroy someone who has moved on....
HOWEVER i do think someone who has been charged with anything involving a minor should not be allowed to work with children. So either there are no regulations within allstar cheer to monitor that, or they are severely lacking and should be changed.
i know people wont agree with that opinion, but that is where i stand.
 
Does he coach? It's a different situation to be involved with the industry as a music producer and not directly coaching minors.

I can see how a situation like his happens like stated above. I find it more concerning that USASF may be green lighting someone that has a criminal record involving minors (IF that is happening).
 
I’m also a little torn.

As far as the incident itself goes, I’m going to chalk to it up to stupid behavior (as opposed to predatory). I can totally see the environment in which that “relationship” evolved: he’s a guy in his early twenties who flirts with a girl who is only a few months shy of being a legal adult. It doesn’t feel like a big deal. She reciprocates. They are coworkers, so they feel like equals. The exchanges they have feel “consensual” (as much as that term can apply to a minor) in the moment. It doesn’t feel gross or criminal, it just feels like flirting. I get it.

That said, I don’t condone it. The life experience and maturity level between 17 and 22 is significant. He really should’ve known better.

THAT said, do I think he should be barred from jobs with children knowing the circumstances? Not really. I don’t think he’s a predator. I think he was just a dumb guy who had a woeful lack of common sense. I might feel differently if there was a power dynamic to their relationship that he exploited, or if their age difference was any more extreme, or if he displayed some sick pattern of indulging in this behavior after the initial incident. But none of that is present so I’m comfortable calling it stupid, not predatory.

I just want to state again: I’m not condoning what he did. He really REALLY should’ve known better. I don’t condone his actions, but I could forgive them given the circumstances.

Gonna have to disagree with you here. He was 25. I am 24, and the idea of engaging with anyone in high school or even under the age of 21 makes my stomach turn. He was not 21 or even 22 going after a 17 year old. The messages showed that he had been grooming her for some time. There is no excuse here.
 
Gonna have to disagree with you here. He was 25. I am 24, and the idea of engaging with anyone in high school or even under the age of 21 makes my stomach turn. He was not 21 or even 22 going after a 17 year old. The messages showed that he had been grooming her for some time. There is no excuse here.

Oh we was 25? I thought he was 22 because he said something like “I’d just graduated college.” Yeah alright. That’s weird. Gonna rescind my statement.
 
What do those charges mean exactly? Does anyone know? Is it that he flashed some kids? I’m not trying to undercut the severity of the situation, I just want to know what penalties he’s looking at.

"In Nevada, the lewdness charge involves a victim being touched “with the intent of arousing or appealing or gratifying the victim or the offender,” Mr. Wolfson said"

Terry Gray, Ex-U.S.A. Gymnastics Coach, Faces Charges of Lewdness With a Minor - The New York Times
 
Does he coach? It's a different situation to be involved with the industry as a music producer and not directly coaching minors.

I can see how a situation like his happens like stated above. I find it more concerning that USASF may be green lighting someone that has a criminal record involving minors (IF that is happening).
This is where I've been with it all too. Do I think he should be coaching? No. I don't want anyone with a criminal record coaching my children. I don't think I'd care if my child's music producer had a criminal record though. That person isn't coming into contact with my child any more than the person that sews their uniform.
 
This is where I've been with it all too. Do I think he should be coaching? No. I don't want anyone with a criminal record coaching my children. I don't think I'd care if my child's music producer had a criminal record though. That person isn't coming into contact with my child any more than the person that sews their uniform.
I mean teams do send videos of their kids to him for him to make the music to the routine.
But USASF says they do background checks. Are they lying or did they bend rules for him?
 
I mean teams do send videos of their kids to him for him to make the music to the routine.
But USASF says they do background checks. Are they lying or did they bend rules for him?

Sometimes “background checks” doesn’t necessarily mean “zero tolerance for a criminal record.” Idk if this is the case for USASF, but I do know that the two are not always one and the same. It’s possible for an employer to run a background check, find something, and decide they’ll risk it if the charge is small. I know a handful of HS coaches with trespassing charges from protests that our district HR department is fine with.

So idk if USASF’s policy is zero tolerance when it comes to records, but I’m betting they ran a check and decided to work with him anyway. It sounds like he’s had a foothold in the industry for some time so that probably worked in his favor.
 
From a parenting perspective:

I would not be comfortable with having coaches sending video featuring my child to a sex offender.

I don't care if it is just for music.

I don't care how old this man was nor how old the kid in question was.

I feel like that needed to be disclosed to parents. I would be furious if just now being told that the person receiving videos of my kid is a sex offender.
 
Sometimes “background checks” doesn’t necessarily mean “zero tolerance for a criminal record.” Idk if this is the case for USASF, but I do know that the two are not always one and the same. It’s possible for an employer to run a background check, find something, and decide they’ll risk it if the charge is small. I know a handful of HS coaches with trespassing charges from protests that our district HR department is fine with.

So idk if USASF’s policy is zero tolerance when it comes to records, but I’m betting they ran a check and decided to work with him anyway. It sounds like he’s had a foothold in the industry for some time so that probably worked in his favor.
yes but trespassing doesn’t really interfere with you being a respectable coach. if they’re finding crimes against a minor and allowing that to slide- we’ve got huge issues here.
 
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yes but trespassing doesn’t really interfere with you being a respectable coach. if they’re finding crimes against a minor and allowing that to slide- we’ve got huge issues here.

Yes I agree. I’m just saying idk what the USASF policy is on background checks and if they have a zero tolerance approach toward criminal records. If they do and they hired him anyway, that’s weird because it means they didn’t do the check, or they did and didn’t care about what they found.

But honestly even if it’s not zero tolerance and they make exceptions, it’s still weird AF that they hired him. Admittedly, it’s possible that the charge on the record was worked down to something more vague (ex: “disorderly”) as a condition of a plea deal so they could say they didn’t know, but a charge involving minors couldn’t be THAT vague, right?
 
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