Former Southlake mayor John Huffman officially stepped down from the board at the Texas Home Educators Sports Association because of his role in hiring a registered sex offender as the high school baseball coach. The remaining members of the board are choosing to deflect blame onto him.
They also leaned on their Christian values to minimize the severity of the situation.
Under no circumstances should a registered sex offender serve as a high school baseball coach. Not even if he or was cleared by the police to serve in the specific role and/or approved by the parents.
Tommy Whiteman is a registered sex offender.
Whiteman, a former college baseball standout at the University of Oklahoma, was drafted into the MLB by the Houston Astros in 2000. He spent seven seasons in the minor leagues before his professional career came to an end in 2006.
Four years later, Whiteman was arrested and charged with “online solicitation of a minor.” He either communicated with and/or distributed sexually explicit material to an undercover police officer who posed as a 14-year-old female. The 46-year-old will be listed on the sex offender registry in the state of Texas until 2030 as a “moderate danger to the community, with a possibility of re-offending.”
Despite his status as a registered sex offender, Tommy Whiteman currently works with children at Redemptive Sports. He and his wife founded the “Christ-centered private college baseball training” program and facility in Keller, Texas.
If that was not bad enough, Whiteman was previously listed as the head baseball coach for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association. THESA is a “Christ-centered organization offering competitive sports for middle school and high school homeschool athletes.” It is a team of homeschool kids.
THESA required the parents to sign a waiver that cleared their son to play for a registered sex offender even though the waiver did not mention that he is a registered sex offender. Whiteman has since resigned from his role after his disturbing past was publicly revealed by Amy Smith of Watchkeep. You can CLICK HERE to see a full list of documents, emails and communication related this matter. It’s a bad look for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association.
THESA refuses to take accountability for its high school baseball coach.
Former Southlake, Texas mayor John Huffman and his wife Elizabeth were on the board at THESA. They oversaw the basketball and baseball programs. They approved the hire of Tommy Whiteman.
As you could imagine, their decision to hire a registered sex offender as the high school baseball coach was met with backlash— especially because they tried to brush it under the rug with an intentionally vague waiver agreement. Elizabeth and John Huffman stepped down in wake of the discovery.
The Texas Home Educators Sports Association released the following letter to announce their departure from the organization. It blames only the former board members for placing a registered sex offender around kids. It lacks accountability. There is no apology.
Dear THESA Riders,
The past several weeks have been difficult for everyone in our community. We are grateful for your patience as the Board worked to understand what went wrong, investigate the relevant facts and circumstances, and carefully consider how to communicate with honesty, transparency, and responsibility rather than rushing to make a statement. In the spirit of James 1:19, being “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry”, we have sought to respond thoughtfully and with care.
We want to address concerns regarding Mr. Whiteman who was associated with our organization as the head baseball coach and his status as a registered sex offender. The current Board was not involved in the original vetting of Mr. Whiteman, and any Board Members who were involved in the vetting and approval process of Mr. Whiteman are no longer on the Board. When the remaining Board assumed leadership, it believed in good faith that appropriate vetting had already taken place, including due diligence regarding what was and was not permissible in light of his past. Mr. Whiteman and his family have been upfront about the incidents that ultimately resulted in his status as a registered sex offender, and through their website and testimony believed that his situation was communicated transparently to the families involved.
To be clear, Mr. Whiteman is no longer associated with THESA and the Board has not received any allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriateness during his time coaching with THESA.
Additionally, Timilyn Whiteman has also stepped down from her coaching role with the POM team and work with the Board.
As part of our due diligence this week, the Board confirmed the following things:
Mr. Whiteman’s offense took place 16 years ago. The Keller Police Department Sex Offender Registration Officer over Mr. Whiteman confirmed that his coaching responsibilities were in compliance with his current status.
During the entirety of Mr. Whiteman’s involvement with THESA, there have been no reports, or allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior.If anyone becomes aware of any incident or allegation of inappropriate conduct or sexual abuse involving a child related to THESA, we urge you to report it immediately to the Board, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and local law enforcement. We take these matters seriously and want to ensure the protection of all of our families.
The Board has retained independent outside legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive review of our policies, procedures, and current background check requirements related to coach and volunteer vetting.
Our legal counsel will work alongside a planned subcommittee of trusted THESA volunteers with specific backgrounds to help us grow stronger as an organization. The THESA Board and all of our volunteers take seriously the responsibility to maintain a safe, transparent, and trustworthy environment for all participants — players, families, and coaches alike.
We appreciate your prayers and support as we endeavor to lead this organization in a way that honors the Lord.
— THESA Board Members
The letter immediately falls back on faith and tries to justify the controversial hire because it didn’t violate Huffman’s arrangement with the law as a registered sex offender. That raises two questions:
- How did the rest of the board not do their own background checks before Whiteman was hired?
- Did the rest of the board not have knowledge of the waiver or why it exists?
Tommy Whiteman and his wife are out as the head coaches of the baseball and pom teams. John Huffman and his wife are out as members of the board at THESA. Is that enough?