在充满争议的秋天之后，田纳西州高中体育协会正式决定要求对所有裁判和官员进行背景调查。根据田纳西州的一份新报告，TSSAA（或田纳西中学体育协会）在最近的董事会会议上投票决定对所有希望在该协会注册的体育官员进行背景调查。所有高中田径裁判员都必须在 TSSAA 注册，以监督全州的比赛、比赛或比赛。
TSSAA 的决定是田纳西州高中田径运动向前迈出的一步，由于今年秋天缺乏官方背景调查，田纳西州高中田径运动受到了争议。9 月，TSSAA 在发现一名裁判未能披露其完整的犯罪历史后，将其停职。据田纳西州报道，事实证明，这位现任前官员于 2007 年承认犯有法定强奸未遂罪和加重犯罪侵入罪。
这些定罪，尤其是未遂的法定强奸指控，很可能会取消有关裁判员主持高中体育赛事的资格。然而，由于 TSSAA 只要求披露犯罪记录而不是犯罪背景调查，该官员能够隐藏他的过去，以便与未成年人一起上场。虽然在官员被停职和解雇之前或之后，没有发现任何虐待或骚扰的报告，但事实是 TSSAA 的荣誉制度不起作用。
幸运的是，这起事件似乎让 TSSAA 惊醒了。通过展示性犯罪者或暴力犯罪者对自己的过去撒谎并在足球或棒球场上找到一席之地是多么容易，该事件证明了背景调查对于体育官员来说是必不可少的。就像高中教师和高中教练要接受背景审查一样，体育官员也应该接受这些审查。
在全州学区施加相当大的压力后，TSSAA 董事会于 11 月 12 日星期四正式投票，要求对所有官员进行背景调查。新政策将立即生效，并将适用于所有希望在该组织注册成为官员的人。支票也不是一次性交易。相反，TSSAA 决定背景调查将成为任何希望在高中体育裁判中保持活跃的人的年度要求。未能通过检查或未能完成检查的官员将从 TSSAA 发送给全州学区的名单中删除。
The TSSAA decision is a step forward for Tennessee high school athletics, which has shouldered a controversy due to the lack of official background checks this fall. In September, the TSSAA suspended one of their referees after discovering that he had failed to disclose his full criminal history. The now-former official, as it turned out, had pleaded guilty to attempted statutory rape and aggravated criminal trespass back in 2007, according to The Tennessean.
Those convictions, particularly the attempted statutory rape charge, would have likely disqualified the referee in question from officiating high school athletic events. However, since the TSSAA only required criminal record disclosure and not criminal background checks, the official was able to hide pieces of his past to get on the field with minors. While no reports of abuse or harassment have come to light, either prior to or following the official's suspension and dismissal, the fact is that the TSSAA's honor system didn't work.
Luckily, the incident seems to have shaken the TSSAA awake. By showing just how easy it would be for a sex offender or violent criminal to lie about his or her past and find a place on a football or baseball field, the incident proved that background checks are a must for sports officials. Just like high school teachers and high school coaches are subject to background screenings, so too should athletic officials face those checks.
After considerable pressure from school districts throughout the state, the TSSAA's board officially voted on Thursday, November 12th to require background checks for all officials. The new policy will take effect immediately and will apply to every person wishing to register with the organization to be an official. The checks are not a one-time deal, either; instead, the TSSAA has decided that the background checks will be an annual requirement for anyone who wishes to stay active in high school sports officiating. Officials who fail to pass their checks or who fail to complete them will be removed from the lists that the TSSAA sends to school districts throughout the state.
