All-Star Md Gymnastics Instructor Arrested....

[cachoi]

You know your scum when the other prison inmates feel like your the bottom of the barrel and have no moral compass.

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.

 

[Official OWECheer]

This seems excessive. I wonder if it has something to do with the season ending. People aren't locked in contracts anymore so they might feel more comfortable reporting something.

Which is sad and scary.

Jeffrey Dahmer was also murdered in prison. Beaten to death.

 

[BlueCat]

Rockstar might find themselves in trouble if the conversations this man had between himself and the girl made them suspect his intentions. The story says he sent nude photos to the girl in the sting. If that was the reason why he was fired from Rockstar, whomever reported it to the parents but not the authorities will be in legal hot water (along with the parents, assuming they did not report it to the authorities, either).

Not trying to defend what Rockstar did or didn't do, just trying not to rush to judgement based on the very limited information given in the article.

 

[catlady]

The problem with the full story is it always brings up gray area and the law is very black and white. I know owners are often close with their employees but, calling the police and letting them question them first will prevent the full story and their friendship from clouding their judgment. There is a big difference between texts that say, "good job", "you really stepped up tonight", etc. and those that say, "I'll help you out on Saturday after hours with your tumbling if you come to the gym", "I don't live that far from you, I can take you home", ....While those last two texts can often be justified through the full story, the black and white story has the alarms sounding off.

 

[randomactsofcheer]

Not trying to defend what Rockstar did or didn't do, just trying not to rush to judgement based on the very limited information given in the article.

I understand and agree. I wish there was more information given on the situation. I am curious to know how Rockstar "caught" the coach having inappropriate conversations with the athlete. It may have just been a conversation that, as @catlady said, could be justified with a full story but was enough to make the gym or the athlete uncomfortable. But I agree with @catlady that it should have been reported to the police. If the gym was worried enough to fire the coach, then they should have also reported it to the police.

 

[BlueCat]

I understand and agree. I wish there was more information given on the situation. I am curious to know how Rockstar "caught" the coach having inappropriate conversations with the athlete. It may have just been a conversation that, as @catlady said, could be justified with a full story but was enough to make the gym or the athlete uncomfortable. But I agree with @catlady that it should have been reported to the police. If the gym was worried enough to fire the coach, then they should have also reported it to the police.

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?

 

[myprincesscheers]

I watch a lot of prison documentary type shows and every one makes it a point to mention that sex offenders and especially child sex offenders are treated terribly by the other inmates. A lot of them are kept locked away in protective cells or in administrative segregation (only 3 hours of rec time per week, no privileges) with very limited privileges simply because the other inmates will attack.

Seems like a good reason to leave them with general population from the beginning. Problem solved.

 

[cheerisloving]

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?

I think that this is a tough one- outside of cheerleading 21-17 is not that creepy, depending on some details a 17-year-old and 21 year old could be in HS at the same time. There are 17 year olds that date 21 year olds. If this isn't her coach, and if the athlete doesn't feel uncomfortable then I don't see an issue, there are no alarms. A 21 year old and and one younger than 15? Yes.

ETA someone who is 21 at one point and time could've been in HS with someone who is now 17. And it depends on what the nature of the relationship is. Is it a mutual, above board, parents know and not predatory relationship or is it a 21 year old trying to hit on a 17 year old because they're younger and easier to control.

 

[kristenthegreat]

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?

That is tricky to me, if only because in some states that relationship (while inappropriate) isn't necessarily illegal. I don't know that I would call the police without further information (like I learned they were sending messages to other girls 17 or under). I'm not a parent so my answer might not be as relevant. It is, like you say, close to the dividing line. Definitely grounds for firing.

 

[Lisa Seye]

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?

I don't call the police in this but I reprimand the coach in some way, inform the parents, provide the coach some training on what is and is not appropriate. Even if the kid was 18, the coach is in a position of authority and it would still NOT be appropriate. If the coach still did not begin to be more professional after reprimand and some classes on sexual harrassment, he would need to be let go. Situations differ on when police should be called but as a gym owner you have a database or shared forum with other owners. What liability do u have if you inform other gym owners why he was fired? Is that allowable?

 

[Official OWECheer]

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?

Can I add to this and propose a situation in which it is a gay male coach? I'm sure that many of us are thinking of a straight male coach, but what if the person saying this is an openly gay coach known for having a flamboyant, divo personality? I feel like people would be less likely to report it if that were the case.

 

[Nothanks]

Also, what if the parents didn't feel it was necessary to inform the police? Should the gym do it anyway?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[catlady]

@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.

 

[SharkDad]

SMH. Do the police typically nab this many in a single week, or is this normal?

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.

 

[SharkDad]

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?

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.