Missing Money Raises Questions Within Youth Program

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Abilene Reporter-News (Texas)

 

Reports of a misappropriation of funds from a youth sports organization have prompted resignations and created a "rift" between parents, coaches and others in the Redskins, a part of the West Texas Youth Football and Cheerleading organization.

According to a police report filed Wednesday: "It was reported that someone working in a volunteer position as a board member ... misappropriated funds of money that another person was entrusted with. That same person also used a bank card to pay for a personal cell phone bill."

The amount listed is $5,000. Police are investigating further.

Kevin Bose, a coach for the Redskins organization, said Friday afternoon that he didn't "know any of the full-on details" about the reported crime.

"But basically, what happened is our treasurer at the time, the beginning of the season, had realized there were issues with the books," he said. "So what she did, she went to our Mighty Mites coach who had experience investigating missing money in his career prior to what he's doing now. And so she approached him to investigate what's wrong with the picture."

From there, internal strife put strain on the Redskins' leadership Bose said,

"The president and the treasurer were at odds about it (the situation)," Bose said. "So there was money missing. We don't know if it was stolen or if it was just lost or what happened to it because there's no official investigation that has been started until recently."

Bose said that since then, the team's treasurer has resigned, its president was removed, and its vice president appointed as interim president.

"(The vice president) was given specific orders not to create a board, but to find out where the money's gone," Bose said. "So what he did, he created a board to help him investigate what was going on. There was a rift created from this between parents, between coaches, and within our Redskins organization."

WTYFA leadership have since stepped in and removed all the team's board members, and have "taken over everything until the end of the season," Bose said.

Lamont Thompson, president of the WTYFA, said that the organization had no further comment while the investigation was ongoing.

"As far as an investigation goes, there's nothing to really be told," Bose said. "There is money gone, it's unclear how much exactly, and we need an actual investigation before anything can really be reported."

In a separate incident, Bose said that in a team photo some adults can be seen making an obscene gesture in a team picture.

"One of the factions, because basically, that's what it is, the Mighty Mites coaches had flipped the bird in of their pictures and posted it on social media," he said. "And so, it's not just this whole money mess now, it's also that."

Bose said that even though he is a head coach, he has no child involved in the program.

"I am a coach because I want to coach, I want to be involved with the kids and do my to help create a better society for the future," he said. "So for me, this is all just a big headache, and we don't have anybody advocating for the kids. And that really hurts, because the ones being most the most affected by all of this is the kids."

He said that there are between 75 to 100 children in the Redskins organization, which consists of four football teams - one flag, three tackle - and cheerleaders.

"They don't fully understand what's going on, but listening to their parents and all this stuff and all their authority figures bickering and fighting about everything, I don't think that's what we need," Bose said. "... I just really want everybody to calm down and let's just finish the season strong and let's worry about this in the off-season when the kids aren't involved."

WTYFA is a nonprofit youth organization specializing in youth football and cheerleading programs for all children in grades pre-k through sixth-grade.

The organization is staffed by volunteers and consists of nine teams, with a stated goal of inspiring youth to "develop life skills of character, teamwork and Christian principles."

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October 21, 2017
 
 
 

 

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