School sent parents waiver they could sign to let sex offender coach their kids

Thomas Whiteman, who goes by Tommy, was listed as a coach for a Christian educational body (Picture: Texas Sex Offender Registry/Watchkeep.org) Parents received a waiver from a Texas school allowing their children to be trained by a registered sex offender. The Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) has come under fire after parents found out that one of its coaches is a registered sex offender. Thomas Whiteman, who goes by Tommy, a former baseball player with the Houston Astros, was until recently listed as the head coach for the THESA Riders. The 46-year-old, who has previously also coached high school softball teams in another county, is on the state’s sex offender registry until 2030. Tommy Whiteman pictured in 2003 when he played with the Houston Astros (Picture: Getty Images) It is for online solicitation of a minor in 2010, meaning communicating or distributing sexually explicit material, according to information on the registry seen by Metro. The victim involved in the offence was a 14-year-old girl, the registry states. THESA, a Christian educational body, provides sport opportunities for homeschooled young people in the Fort Worth area of Texas. It sent the waiver to the parents as part of a registration pack, which failed to include information about his criminal status, Amy Smith from Watchkeep.org first reported. The waiver said: ‘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. ‘His heart is to not only share his vast knowledge of baseball skills, but more importantly, the freedom he found in his Redeemer. Before you commit to Coach Tommy’s leadership, check out his testimony here.’ Can you imagine having to sign a waiver for your kid to play baseball because the coach is a child sex offender? @JohnRHuffman pic.twitter.com/MXJHp0zhV7— Amy Smith (@watchkeep) April 24, 2026 A parent of a young baseball player told Smith that the waiver allegedly mentioned nothing about his sex offender status, although he talked about his struggles with porn. Whiteman is no longer listed as a coach on THESA’s website. Whiteman also reportedly operates a softball facility in Keller called Redemptive Sports. Its website also lists a testimony about him under subheading ‘the darkest shadows,’ where he admits engaging in ‘inappropriate conversations that led to adultery,’ local outlet Chron reported. The bizarre testimony states: ‘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.’ Whiteman was also reportedly listed as an approved off-campus activity provider for Carroll Independent School District (CISD) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area The school district told Metro that it is aware of concerns regarding an off-campus provider and it is ‘currently reviewing the situation.’ It said: ‘The provider in question was utilized by one student during the 2022-23 school year at a parent’s request and, to our knowledge, has not been used by any other CISD students since that time.’ Metro approached THESA for a comment. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.