Tommy Whiteman will no longer serve as the high school baseball coach at the Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA). The 46-year-old sex offender chose to resign from his post.
This comes after the program required parents to sign a waiver so their kids could play for the team.
Whiteman might be in violation of his criminal sentence by working with high school baseball players. It presents horrible optics either way.
Who is Tommy Whiteman?
Whiteman was drafted in the sixth round of the MLB Draft in 2000 by the Houston Astros out of the University of Oklahoma. He played seven seasons in the Minor Leagues with a career .270 batting average, 59 home runs, 310 RBI and 45 stolen bases in 2,486 total at-bats in 681 total games on the Single-, Double- and Triple-A levels. His professional career came to an end in 2006.
Four years later, Tommy Whiteman was found guilty of “online solicitation of a minor.” That means he either communicated with or distributed sexually explicit material to a person under the age of 17. More specifically, a 14-year-old female (that was actually a police officer).
To make matters worse, Whiteman was also convicted of domestic abuse assault and battery in Oklahoma in 1999 and 2000. Not great.
Whiteman will be listed on the sex offender registry in the state of Texas until 2030 as a moderate risk. He is “deemed to pose a moderate danger to the community, with a possibility of re-offending.”
Despite his conviction, Whiteman currently works with children. He and his wife founded Redemptive Sports, a “Christ-centered private college baseball training” program and facility in Keller, Texas. After an initial post about Whiteman from Amy Smith of Watchkeep, Redemptive Sports deactivated its Facebook and Instagram accounts. Its website remains active.
The founder of Redemptive Sports, Tommy Whiteman, can speak first hand about the dark shadows of sports, especially professionally. He, himself an extremely talented athlete, spent many years praising himself and feeding his flesh. The Lord so graciously refused to let the world have him and rescued him from his sin in a tremendously dramatic, yet necessary way. Tommy now spends his time pouring into men around him, helping them navigate this tricky culture with Christ. His heart is to not only share his vast knowledge of baseball skills with post grad athletes, but more importantly, the freedom he found in his Redeemer as well.
— Redemptive Sports
He also offers biblical counseling.
Tommy is devoted to making Redemptive Sports Christ-centered and scripture based. Tommy spent time in some biblical counseling training through the Association of Biblical Counselors and prioritizes Bible reading for himself and his athletes. The goal here is to create a community of men who not only have a common interest, but who hold each other accountable and push truth into one another’s lives.
— Redemptive Sports
In addition to his work with Redemptive Sports, Whiteman was previously listed as the head baseball coach for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association. That is no longer the case.
He is out as a high school baseball coach.
THESA is based out of Forth Worth, Texas. It is a “Christ-centered organization offering competitive sports for middle school and high school homeschool athletes.”
The Raiders compete in volleyball, cross country, football, boys and girls basketball, pom, golf, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, tennis and track and field. The baseball team does not list a head coach.
This is where things get messy. Tommy Whiteman was listed as the head coach until very recently.
THESA sent the following statement to parents on April 7, announcing that he had resigned due to “operational challenges.” At no point did it mention his sex offender status.
THESA Baseball Families,
The THESA Board would like to share that we have accepted the voluntary resignation of our Head Baseball Coach, Coach Whiteman, effective this past weekend.
Following a team meeting this past Friday, it became evident that the baseball program has been experiencing operational challenges. Coach Whiteman and I spoke on Sunday to review these concerns, and during that conversation, he offered to step down in the best interest of the program.
As President of the Board, I accepted his resignation with sincere gratitude and heartfelt appreciation for his leadership, dedication, and the countless hours he and his family have poured into THESA Baseball.
His impact on our players and community has been meaningful, and we ask that you join us in lifting up Coach Whiteman and his family in prayer during this time.
As we move forward, we are pleased to announce that Coach Crews will step into the role of Head Coach. We are grateful for his willingness to serve and lead, and we are confident in his commitment to our players and our mission.
As a community of volunteers, we are reminded of the importance of unity, grace, and calm as we continue this season together. Our shared purpose remains the same—to train, teach, and encourage our children while enjoying the game of baseball.
We ask everyone to come alongside one another in support, prayer, and encouragement so that we may finish this season strong, honoring both the game and the values we hold as a Christian homeschool community.
— THESA Board President Daryn EudalyPrior to the intentionally vague resignation, THESA forced every parent to sign a waiver to allow their child to play for Whiteman. They were required to “commit to his leadership.” The waiver did not mention anything about his sex offender status.
A THESA baseball parent told Amy Smith of Watchkeep that Whiteman only spoke of his troubles with pornography. He only discusses his conviction on the Redemptive Sports website, which also has its own waiver.
The ‘About Me’ section reads as follows:
Eventually I found myself in chat rooms late into the night while my wife and innocent infant daughter slept. I was engaging in inappropriate conversations that led to adultery. One of these online conversations ended up being with a minor…but it was never a minor…it was a police officer. The sting went down exactly like you would imagine on T.V. It was no question the worst day AND the best day of my life.
— Tommy Whiteman, via Redemptive Sports
The good news is that Whiteman is no longer employed as the high school baseball coach at THESA. The bad news is that someone allowed this to happen in the first place.
John Huffman, a former mayor of Southlake, Texas, is on the board of directors at the Texas Home Educators Sports Association in a role that oversees baseball. He not only approved the hire of a registered sex offender, he allowed parents to sign a waiver that did not mention the conviction.
Texas high school baseball powerhouse Southlake Carroll also lists Tommy Whiteman as an approved off-campus activity provider. The school is aware of this situation and continues to investigate.
To find a full list of documents, emails and communication on this matter, click HERE. Watchkeep lays it all out in a coherent, chronological manner.