this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2026
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[–] cley_faye@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Remember people, in today's USA, it's better to be a sex offender than literally anything else. It's even better if you meddle with kids; that could secure you a position in the government. But girls liking girls? Big no-no.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Let’s not let the UK off the hook - just listened the Jimmy Saville behind the bastards episode, and it seems like certain types of people just get to rape kids.

[–] chrischryse@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Aren’t these the same people who complain about drag queens reading to students?

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

The Department of Defense wouldn’t hire me to teach because I’m trans lol. Wonder if the kiddy diddler would pass their background check.

I’m moving states to be even be allowed to teach. I would absolutely lose my current position if it I was outed.

[–] kaklerbitmap@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

"He, himself a talented athlete, spent many years praising himself and feeding his flesh.. Tommy now spends his time pouring into young men around him"

I'll bet

[–] INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone 6 points 2 days ago

"say what you will about him but he tried to fuck my kid"

[–] remon@ani.social 141 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Tommy now spends his time pouring into young men around him

Excellent choice of words!

Are we really not doing “phrasing” anymore?

[–] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 30 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's really Tobias Fünke-tier wording.

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[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 123 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Coach Tommy can speak first-hand about the dark shadows of sports, especially professionally. He, himself a 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 young men around him, helping them navigate this tricky culture with Christ.

FUCKING YIKES!

A school sent that out? What the fuck?

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 4 points 2 days ago

God, this culture is so tricky. How do I not fuck with kids?

[–] fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 46 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Tommy now spends his time pouring into young men around him

Huh.

[–] kometes@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

Pouring what exactly?

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 33 points 3 days ago

That would be: Texas

[–] wjrii@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

That's specifically from the Jeezus-y homeschool-centric baseball academy and travel team that actually employees him. One district, Southlake Carroll (they of the "rich racists" NBCNews podcast and just generally obnoxious try-hards), had him listed as an authorized outside coach. So not exactly from a school, but absolutely and horrifically education-adjacent.

No worries though! There was also the nominally public charter school in San Angelo, which still has their Christ-centered mission on their about page from when they were a creepy Christian private school, who just had to fire the football staff and half the adminsitration for giving a bunch of kids rhabdo and then covering it up. Their sister school had to fire all the kindergarten(!) teachers because they marched misbehaving children around the room so the other kids could shout "shame!" and point.

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 days ago

absolutely and horrifically education-adjacent.

I work on a ski team helping set up the course and not even directly interacting with athletes (unless theirs an injury, we’re sort of the first responder to stabilize and radio to patrol if necessary). Just in order to do that job I have to spend 2-3 hours each season reviewing Safe Sport courses that train us to spot, report and prevent creeps like that from abusing children. And it’s not even difficult, if you have at least half a (non-perverted) brain, it’s mostly common sense.

Getting a letter like this as a parent would be calling national news worthy level of creepy.

Fucking insane Christian language makes it even creepier. This sounds like enabler bullshit and should get reported to authorities on its own.

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[–] CptHacke@piefed.social 112 points 3 days ago (8 children)

How are registered child sex offenders not legally barred from working with or around children in every US state? How is this not a law that already exists?!?!?

[–] shyguyblue@lemmy.world 97 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 39 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Correction: Texas is run by the oil companies.

[–] Rivermoonwolf@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Correction : Texas is run by probable paedophiles

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[–] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Why do the oil companies want sexual predators to work in schools?

I know why the GOP wants it. They protect their own.

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[–] webp@mander.xyz 31 points 3 days ago

Just look at the leadership.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

It very much is against the law. Read to the end. Here's the last paragraph of the article:

According to the law offices of Ned Barnett, Texas law prevents registered sex offenders from working in places frequented by children, including schools, daycare centers and playgrounds or attending school events like sports games. Some can interact with children at family gatherings or public events, supervised when interacting with children according to court orders and the nature of the offense.

This isn't a problem with the law as much as it is a specific group of people trying to wallpaper a sort of compliance with the law while ignoring the substance of it altogether. First paragraph of the article, emphasis mine:

The Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) thought it could get away with allowing a registered sex offender to coach minors by sending parents a waiver to sign, with the coach's testimony attached, according to Amy Smith at watchkeep.org.

Note also from somewhere in the middle of the article:

The waiver mentioned nothing about his offender status.

And if you're wondering wtf, you're not wrong: all this careful arrangement of fact seems like a very creative effort on the part of the author and editor to actively distance point A from point B. It's possible they're just trying very hard not to piss anyone off in what is already a lost cause.

Or to put it another way, in a state with a very high year-round accumulation of snowflakes, this article involves three very special groups of special snowflakes all at once: a sex offender and his personal fans, the homeschoolers, and the evangelical Christians, and how they are faking compliance with state law by making sure the parents sign a waiver -- one that hides the relevant information about a sex offender with a history of minors -- before giving him free access to their children in direct contradiction to the law, a law they knew enough about to deliberately circumvent.

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[–] Janx@piefed.social 88 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Stay classy, Texas. I believe in redemption. But I also believe a convicted sex offender can't continue coaching kids and needs to find another line of work...

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 73 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I mean,

"Convicted sex offender" can mean anyone from a serial rapist to someone who peed outside. But the byline says:

The former Houston Astros prospect holds previous charges of online solicitation of a minor and domestic violence.

So he shouldn't be in a school.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 21 points 3 days ago (24 children)

Are there really a lot of people who peed outside in the ranks of sex offenders? Kinda find that hard to believe.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 27 points 3 days ago

Probably happens a lot more to black people, at least in the U.S.

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

It really depends on how granular the laws get in certain areas.

But for example indecent exposure may not be a mandatory register on the sex offenders registry, but within 200m of a school or playground is mandatory. (even if it was 2am on a sunday in the middle of the school holidays during the dead of winter.) Like the whole getting booked for drunk driving for being drunk and going to your car to get a jacket.

There are people who are on the register who shouldnt be and people who absolutely should be who arent.

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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 65 points 3 days ago (4 children)

If I got a waiver like that, it wouldn't end with me refusing to sign that waiver. I'll be making an appointment to speak with the principal, and you'll be hearing from me at the next school board meeting.

[–] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 54 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Yeah exactly.

I came here thinking 'maybe he's on the registry because at 19yo he fucked his 17yo GF and her parents found out'... nope. It's every bit as bad as you'd think.

"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."

Here's the thing with those 'stings'- they are not entrapment. The agent makes it clear they are a minor. There's no confusion, no 'I thought she was 18'. That would kill the prosecution and give the defense ammunition. No, the agent 'minor' gives themselves an age that's below 18.

This is no innocent guy trapped in a big net. This is a guy who made plans with a minor to meet up and have sex, KNOWING they weren't 18.

If that were my kid I'd be demanding the heads of everyone who signed off on his hiring and that waiver as they are obviously unfit to be in charge of education. Doesn't matter if it's the principal of the school, pick someone random off the street and they'd do a better job not hiring would-be child rapists to supervise children.

[–] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 days ago

John Oliver just did something on this. “Police stings” is th episode…

It’s not as clear cut as you say. The answer depends on the police or sheriff depts conducting it.

There is also a culture of making these things happen to juice their numbers.

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[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Might run into more problems at the school board meeting (this one is from Tennessee)

God, You Are Hot': US School Board Member To Teen Girl Student During Public Meeting

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[–] etherphon@piefed.world 59 points 3 days ago

Way back when we just assumed that our physical education teachers were sex offenders.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 31 points 3 days ago

Ah, the Christian Republic of Texas as usual.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 21 points 3 days ago (5 children)

I'm surprised Texas has a sex offender registry.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean, Texas created the AMBER Alert system. Many republican voters do seem to genuinely care about protecting kids… They just have a really fucking warped idea of what that entails.

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[–] BigMacHole@thelemmy.club 19 points 3 days ago (4 children)

WHY are you STUPID Libtards surprised that the Party of PROTECTING EPSTEIN is OK with Sex Offenders being around Children?

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[–] Tronn4@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So like the president? 😅

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