Here We Go Again - Coach Arrested

[Baller]

Slammer500
This is Bobby Oaks from the dugout...... Fact: when this first happened several training facilities including EM were called by us and told that mike was terminated from use of our facility for having a sexual relationship with a student.

I'd really like to hear EM's response on this one. A company that pays its bills off of training young people...Not saying is Mike is guilty and should never be hired again based off just a call from Bobby at the time, but what did EM do to keep this out of their building???

She was over 18 at the time. Fact: we took the information to Ontario pd which started the investigation that has led to his arrest finally.

First off, I am not here to espouse Mike's innocence or guilt. I will let a jury decide that. I do however; have a problem with the math on some allegations here. To answer KP, the allegations were made and investigated and proven to be false at the time. Second, the math on Bobby's comments doesn't add up. If the girl was over 18 at the time, she could not be the same girl mentioned in the article. The alleged incidents took place from 2009-2011 when the girl(s) were 15-16. That would presently make them 18-19 at the oldest. Since he left the Dugout in 2010, the girl Bobby claimed to be at the crux of this investigation would be at least 20. I understand the hurt and the frustration here. My dd was a former student of him also. She has nothing but love and respect for him. She was very hurt and upset when I told her of the allegations. All I'm sayin is let the man have his day in court, let's don't try him on a public forum.

[Jammed]

I know a few of Smith's now former students, but I have no first hand information on any of this. I do not want my comments to be taken out of context or misunderstood. I do not want anyone to think think that the following comments apply in this case. They do not. I simply want to use this thread as a way to warn coaches as well as parents.

Last week a player on my DD's HS team was verbally reprimanded by an assistant coach during a post game team meeting. Afterwards the player told my DD that if it happened again, she would get the coach fired. She told my DD that her mother would believe anything she said, so she would tell her mother a story to get the coach fired. My DD took this to mean the girl would cry wolf.

The warning here is simple:
1. Parents, do not ever allow your DD to be alone with a coach. Any adult male for that matter.
2. Coaches, do not ever put yourself in a position whereby you could be falsely accused and not be able to prove otherwise. That means never being alone with females players, and do not ever send email or text messages to individual players. Always copy parents and coaches on any conversations. Any phone conversations need to be done where someone can back you up.

@MTR - I agree with you that background checks are not a perfect solution, but they do at least eliminate the obvious.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the girls affected by this sad and tragic situation.

[DDG]

I'd really like to hear EM's response on this one. A company that pays its bills off of training young people...Not saying is Mike is guilty and should never be hired again based off just a call from Bobby at the time, but what did EM do to keep this out of their building???

Look at page 3 for EM's response. NU posted it there. No one said it happened in their building.

[Iluvblue]

The above advice is really good. Coaches better take steps to make sure this can not happen to them.

Only recently I had a disgruntled parent post some things about me that didnt really accuse me, but he sure implied such without mentioning me by name. Within minutes, dozens of people were posting about the Sicko with absolutely no information other than 1 or 2 sentences from this person. It can happen that fast.

Then after a few hours this person called me up apologizing profusely. It wouldnt matter if you are innocent, an accusation will do you in, both on the fields, and possibly in your private life.

Keep players off of facebook accounts, do not be texting kids, and NEVER be alone with them on the road. You are not their friends, you are a coach. That line must remain perfectly clear.

[reginamatlock]

I personally refuse to beleive this about Mike Smith, As a Mom I have had 2 daughters (ages 14-16) that have taken lessons over a five year period, between 2005-2010 from Mike Smith, I have never known him to be anything other than a caring person and a great professional pitching instructor, Please Don't Find him guilty until the facts come out, Then and only then will I be able to accept this as the truth about Mike Smith

[softball_parent]

Just gotta say that typically they don't arrest without facts that they think the DA will file on. Does it happen and are innocent people arrested. We all know it does. However usually they have something substantial. I think that it is interesting that people really have been very subdued on this arrest. Very different then the lynching that occured on other arrests by softball coaches for the very same thing.

[TravelSoftballDad]

Just gotta say that typically they don't arrest without facts that they think the DA will file on.

Food for thought...this was not an immediate arrest in the field by an officer. What that means is that basically the case was 'investigated' and then submitted to the DA's office before an arrest was made. We know this because he was arrested on a warrant (per the Press Enterprise news report).

In a typical case of this type, the reports (yes...there are generally several generated by several different people; the initial officer's report of what the victim is claiming, any follow-up's from that officer, a detective/investigator's follow-up based on additional info he/she could come up with, any/all CPS generated reports <if applicable>, any/all medical findings <if applicable>, and any suspect statements & suspect-supplied evidence) are sent to the DA's office.

The DA's office also has investigators that have police officer powers. A case like this is normally assigned yet another investigator from the DA's office who also investigates the allegations and the 'suspect's side of the story' (if he/she has provided a statement/evidence) and any potentially clearing evidence that the prosecution has found on it's own.

THEN the case is submitted to the filing DA who reviews the entire package and decides if there is enough evidence present for trial. If so, it proceeds with an arrest warrant declaration that is presented to a seated judge. If not, the case either dies there or is sent back to the investigating agency with requests for more information or a reasoning why the case can not proceed.

So...despite what many people think (and TV shows portray), these types of cases are normally seen by several and go through several checks & balances before action like we read about (the arrest basically) takes place. Many may not believe this, but an agency nor a DA's office wants to waste all this energy (and potentially damaging press/community relations) with a rush to judgement by hooking up a figure in the community (in this case a well-known/highly regarded softball coach) without all their ducks in a row.

** After saying all that, I have ZERO knowledge of this case and read the same Press Enterprise piece you all did. I do NOT know Smith nor did my DD go to him for lessons. I'm simply trying to point out HOW these cases generally make their way through. By no means do I know what happened in THIS case nor do I know if these were the steps that were followed by the agencies involved. **

[AM Softball]

Numero Uno: I think you should make a like and dislike button for each post like FB. There are so many I want to agree with and not post a comment for every one. Just a suggestion.

I agree that:
He is innocent until proven guilty and he's gonna have his day in court but speculation and discussions are what they are: opinions. This is a discussion board so everyone is entitled to talk about their experiences.

The bail was very high making it look kinda bad for him though. That part is very scary just imagining these charges are true. We need to continue to emphasize that we never leave our kids unattended or let them ride with a male coach unless an adult is with them. For everyone's safety. It's just the way you have to be now. Protect yourselves.

I don't think you can place the blame on anyone except him either. These things happen too often in too many random places without anyone knowing.

Whoever these girls are, they are definitely in my prayers, as well as the players that witnessed the arrest. That's tough and I hope they are ok. They look up to their coaches so this is probably very emotional for them.

[Trophy Hunter]

I came across this story relating to sex offenders arrested for sexual activity with their HS girlfriends, which belongs in the other previous sex offender thread, but I couldn't find it because the search function isn't working beyond one page of results. So I'll post it here.

http://www.marieclaire.com/print-this/t ... r?page=all

[jp991964]

My daughter has taken lessons from Mike for almost 9 years,,,every week,,,he has been nothing but professional and caring and extremely helpful.....It's going to take alot more than allegations and an arrest to change our minds about him....No matter what the outcome, our experiences with Mike have always been positive, and if not for his knowledge of the game and pitching instruction, my daughter and hundreds of others wouldn't be where they are today...It's a shame that this forum has been used to discredit someone of his esteem in our community in this way without letting him have his day in court.