FORT WORTH, Texas — The Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) allowed a registered sex offender to serve as a youth baseball coach and circulated a parental waiver that described his personal testimony while not disclosing his offender status, according to reporting by Amy Smith of WatchKeep.org.
Smith reported that Tommy Whiteman, a former Houston Astros prospect, served as head coach of the THESA Riders based in Fort Worth and previously worked with a Haskell High School softball program and operated an indoor sports facility in Keller.
State records list Whiteman on the Texas Sex Offender Registry through 2030 for a 2010 conviction related to online solicitation of a minor. Court records also show prior convictions for domestic violence and assault in Oklahoma in 1999 and 2000.
According to Smith’s report, THESA included a waiver in its registration packet that described Whiteman’s personal religious testimony and coaching philosophy and asked parents to review his background narrative before allowing participation. The waiver did not reference his sex offender status.
Whiteman’s account on the Redemptive Sports website includes a description of a 2010 undercover law enforcement sting related to online communications with what he believed was a minor.
As of Sunday, Whiteman’s name no longer appeared on team listings on MaxPreps or on THESA’s website, where Bryan Crews is listed as head coach.
The Southlake Carroll Independent School District said Whiteman had been listed as an approved off-campus physical activity provider for a student during the 2022–23 school year at a parent’s request. The district said no other students used the program and said it is reviewing its approval process.
In a statement, the district said participation in off-campus physical activity programs occurs at parental discretion and that students are supervised by outside program representatives rather than district staff.
The Homeschool World Series Association, which organizes a national tournament scheduled to begin April 27 in Florida, said it is reviewing the situation involving Whiteman.
Texas law generally prohibits registered sex offenders from working in or around locations primarily used by children, including schools and youth sports settings, depending on the terms of individual court orders and the nature of the offense.
