County considering wider background checks for referees, coaches
March 20, 2008 - 5:04PM

Robert Boyer/Times-News

Alamance County officials are considering widening the scope of the background checks conducted on coaches, referees and others who work or volunteer with the county's youth recreation leagues.

At present, the checks determine only whether a potential coach or official has a criminal record in Alamance County, said Bryan Hagood, the director of the county's Recreation and Parks Department.

Hagood said Earl Jaggers, a member of the county's Recreation and Parks Commission, suggested the commission discuss extending the checks statewide.

On Tuesday, the recreation commission discussed the issue during its monthly meeting and decided, for the moment, to leave the current policy in place until Hagood completes a study and reports back to the body, said commission member Bill Lashley, who also is on the Alamance County Board of Commissioners.

The discussion comes after a July 2006 Times-News story that revealed felon Rakeem Felton officiated three games for the county that summer while he was on probation for driving while impaired and drug possession. Felton also had two assault convictions.

According to an October 2006 Times-News story, Felton did not officiate any games after the initial report. Until the revelation, the county "required background checks for potential coaches but not for umpires," the story reported.

The latter story also reported that the county began running background checks for umpires and referees after learning about Felton's convictions.

"Coaches and officials are prohibited from participating in youth sports if they have any felony conviction within the past 15 years. Child abuse, sexual misconduct, and certain types of drug or alcohol offenses can also keep a coach or umpire off the field," the October 2006 story reported.

Felton's probation was revoked in 2007, and the 32-year-old is serving time in a state prison, according to information from the N.C. Department of Correction Web site.

Lashley, who supports the statewide background checks, said the county commissioners will probably sign off on any changes to the policy.

Lashley doesn't know when the recreation commission is likely to take up the issue again, but said the policy will probably remain as is "from now to the fall."

On Wednesday, Jaggers refused to comment and hung up the phone twice before a Times-News reporter could bring up the subject.

Tony Laws, the director of recreation and human services in Burlington, said his department conducts mandatory statewide background checks on coaches and officials, and is considering extending the inquiries nationwide.

Any adult who works in any capacity in a city youth recreation league must undergo a background check, Laws said.

Recreation departments in Mebane, Graham and Haw River are "under the umbrella" of the county recreation and parks department and follow its policy on background checks, said Dean Ray, the director of the Mebane Recreation Department. Ray called the issue "very important" and said the trend in recreation departments is toward more far-reaching checks.