In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a local youth football coach was recently arrested on drug charges. The coach, Darryle Tyrone Gregory, was pulled over in his vehicle on December 17, 2006 due to heavily tinted windows. Later on, a search of his car revealed the presence of 5.2 grams of marijuana and 28.7 grams of cocaine according to investigators.

Gregory, who was employed by Pop Warner Football, the nations largest youth football organization, ended up being charged with two counts of drug trafficking, one count of possession to sell and deliver cocaine, and one count of possession of marijuana. He was the head coach for the Mitey Mites team.

A background check had been completed on Gregory and two prior drug arrests had shown up on his record. The policy of Pop Warner Football states that it is up to each team’s executive board to review the background check and decide whether or not the person is fit to coach. In the case of Gregory, the board decided he was. A more in depth criminal record search on Gregory revealed that he had charges dating back to 1995 and included an assault on a female, possession of marijuana and cocaine, and resisting an officer.

Now, many local parents are outraged and speaking out on the validity of the background checks on coaches. Local coach, David Thompson questions the process stating, “I do think action should be taken…I think we should review background checks–what’s acceptable and what’s not?”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 26th, 2006 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.