Indiana Baseball Coach Accused Of Stealing From 11-Year-Old Players
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Apr 24, 2012 10:20PM
The parents of 11-year-old baseball players say their kids' coach collected about $8,000 from them and took off. The man who was hired to coach the traveling team Deep River Devils in Hobart, Ind., asked parents to fork over $675 for the usual uniforms and tournament fees. Now the kids have no uniforms and are enrolled in no tournaments, and police are investigating.
According to CBS, the coach wrote team spokeswoman Lisa Merrill saying he had a breakdown and is receiving treatment. He promised to repay the money.
“The uniforms were supposedly with the coach. I found out he never ordered them. I called the league we were supposed to be playing through and was told (the coach) paid the initial $25 for the team to be named on its website, but he never showed up for follow-up meetings or paid for the tournaments,” Merrill told the Sun-Times.
Police Lt. David Grissom said the bank account the coach was using has a negative balance. Plus, Hobart High School is owed money for allowing the team to practice there, and aside from the lost money, parents are also stuck trying to find a way for their kids to play ball this summer.
“The guy came from Illinois and had a fancy resume,” Grissom told the Sun-Times. “I feel sorry for the kids. They’re scrambling to see if they can play in any tournaments.”