Parents back coaches with criminal records
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

By Libby Nelson
Times Staff Writer

Parents and coaches in the Azalea Bulldogs youth football program on Tuesday defended four coaches with felony records saying it should not stop them from working with young players. 

"What happened in the past is the past," said Derrick Jenkins, whose son plays for one of the coaches. 

The coaches' pasts allow them to give players like her son honest advice about staying out of trouble, said parent Andrea Walls. "I know for a fact that they've just really touched lives that probably would have went other directions, and I think their experience has made them better coaches." 

Three of Azalea's head coaches and one assistant coach have criminal records that include drug charges, weapons offenses and prison time. One coach was convicted as recently as 2006 for grand theft and larceny. 

The Bulldogs enroll about 400 7- to 14-year-old players, who play on teams divided by age, weight and ability. 

The Suncoast Youth Football Conference, which has Azalea and 10 other programs, requires only a search of the state sex offender registry. It catches would-be coaches who are sexual offenders, but not those who have committed other crimes. 

Rodney Surratt, president of the Countryside Junior Cougars, another program within Azalea's conference, said the Cougars conduct a comprehensive background check through the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. 

"We do complete background checks, and we're very adamant about it," Surratt said Tuesday. 

The Cougars send a letter to volunteers to alert them that a background check will be done, Surratt said. Drug crimes, including use of controlled substances, automatically disqualify coaches from Countryside, he said. 

Surratt said he has encouraged the presidents of other programs within the conference to follow the same guidelines. 

But some Azalea parents and coaches said that finding volunteers willing to make a substantial time commitment is difficult and that the Azalea coaches should be commended, regardless of their criminal records. 

"Azalea is one of the best leagues I've ever coached in," said Tony Nesbit, an assistant coach. "You've got professional football players right out on the field playing with criminal records. .... Everybody deserves a second chance." 

The group's four coaches have 45 arrests among them. 

Head coach Adrian Monroe, 37, was convicted for possession of cocaine and marijuana and for carrying a concealed weapon. 

Head coach Brian Dozier, 29, has 14 arrests, mostly for driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to a year in jail in 2003 as a habitual offender. 

Head coach Aundre Stevens, 34, pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in 2003 and was convicted in 2006 of grand theft and larceny. 

Assistant coach Charles Price, 32, was convicted of selling cocaine. 

Azalea teams practice on public school property and city of St. Petersburg facilities. Officials from both entities said Tuesday that background checks for coaches are the conferences' responsibility. 

The district has no control over volunteers with other groups if they use school property outside of school hours, said Andrea Zahn, a spokeswoman for Pinellas County public schools. 

The city requires teams using its fields to check volunteers only against the sex offender registry. Clarence Scott, city services administrator, said the city would not be opposed to more comprehensive background checks, but there are cost constraints for some of the leagues. 

"We try to work collaboratively with the youth organizations, and cost is always a factor," he said. "You have to take into account that a great many of the youth that they serve are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and money is not unlimited." 

A proposed bill in the state Legislature would require complete background checks for all coaches in youth sports organizations. If the bill passes, the city would try to find ways to help the groups pay for it, Scott said.