North Texas youth baseball coach is a registered sex offender

Handcuffs. Photo: Bloomberg

Bloomberg Wire

A registered sex offender worked as a youth baseball coach and private instructor in North Texas, sparking an outcry from advocates for sexual abuse survivors.

Tommy Whiteman, once a Houston Astros prospect, served as head baseball coach for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association, a Fort Worth-based organization for home-schooled children. He was also an approved off-campus athletics provider at Carroll ISD in Southlake. 

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Whiteman, who played shortstop for the University of Oklahoma, was drafted in 2000 by the Astros and went on to play six years in the minor leagues. Four years after retiring, in 2010, he was convicted of soliciting a 14-year-old girl online. 

Whiteman, 46, who also owns Redemptive Sports, an indoor baseball and softball facility in Keller, did not immediately respond to a phone call or text message Monday. He will remain on the Texas sexual offender registry until 2030.

Court records show Whiteman also has previous domestic violence and assault convictions in Oklahoma from 1999 and 2000.

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Amy Smith, a Southlake mother who runs the sexual abuse tracker Watchkeep, first reported Whiteman’s sex offender status and connection to youth baseball. 

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Whiteman resigned from the home school organization, known as THESA, earlier this month, according to a letter sent to parents obtained by The Dallas Morning News. He began volunteering as coach in June 2024.

“His impact on our players and community has been meaningful, and we ask that you join us in lifting up Coach Whiteman and his family in prayer during this time,” the letter said.

Parents whose children played for THESA were asked to sign a waiver to allow Whiteman to coach, but it did not specifically mention his status as a sex offender, according to screen shots published online. Instead, the waiver said that as a professional athlete Whiteman “spent many years praising himself and feeding his flesh” and that the “Lord rescued him from his sin in a tremendously dramatic, yet necessary, way.” 

“Tommy now spends his time pouring in to young men around him, helping them navigate this tricky culture with Christ,” the waiver read before providing a link to Whiteman’s own statement that further addressed the sex offense. 

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While playing professional baseball, Whiteman wrote that alcohol, drugs and pornography were a daily part of his life. After meeting his wife, Timilyn, he decided to quit baseball and settle in North Texas, but “demons of professional athletics” were not easy to shake. 

At night, he said, he found himself in online chat rooms engaging in “inappropriate conversations” that led to adultery. One night, as his wife and baby slept, Whiteman said he met a 14-year-old in an online chat room. The girl turned out to be a police officer, he would later learn in a sting.

“The Lord had used this worst day of my life to strip me clean and take me to the very bottom,” Whiteman wrote. “Only now could He start chiseling the man He intended for me to be.”

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Court records show Whiteman also has previous domestic violence and assault convictions in Oklahoma from 1999 and 2000.

THESA describes itself as an “expressly Christian athletic organization” that is “united around a shared commitment to honoring Jesus Christ in all that we do — on and off the field.”

In a statement Monday to The News, THESA’s board of directors said it has not received any allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior during Whiteman’s time coaching. If any such allegations surface, THESA said they should be reported to authorities.

“We take these matters seriously and want to ensure the protection of all of our families,” wrote the organization.

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Previous board members were responsible for vetting Whiteman and no current board members were serving when he joined the organization, the board said. THESA has hired outside legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive review of the association’s policies, procedures and current background check requirements related to coach and volunteer vetting. 

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“THESA remains committed to operating with accountability and an unwavering focus on the wellbeing and safety of every player,” the statement said.

Jeff Brady, a spokesperson for Carroll ISD, said the district is reviewing Whiteman’s role as an off-campus provider and knows of only one student who worked with Whiteman in an official capacity. Off-campus providers are typically approved at the request of parents to count toward physical education credits, he said. School board trustees plan to examine the district’s processes.

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“The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority,” the district said, “and we take all concerns seriously.”