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In the City of Bayonne, NJ, fifteen coaches and youth organization representatives met with Assistant City Attorney Christopher Patella and Police Sgt. Kevin Gallagher last week to discuss the details of the City’s new background screening program. Now all volunteer and paid coaches who work for the City’s recreation teams and nonprofit groups will be fingerprinted and screened.

Previously mandated by vote of the City Council, it is estimated that 1,200 to 1,400 coaches will be covered in this new screening program. Gallagher said that the first round of checks will not require the applicants to pay any fees because the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation will be picking up the costs. Thereafter, the leagues, teams, or sponsor organizations will be asked to pay $48 for each volunteer coach and $71 for each paid employee hired. Those who pass the check will be granted ID cards good for three years.

Bayonne Little League President Glen Regan, whose coaches work with more than 600 children, said he supported the new policy and added, “I think our parents should be happy because their kids will be safe and well-protected.”

In an outrage, this October, Armand Cotnoir won his appeal following his removal from a practice field where he was coaching in Plant City, Florida. Although it is routine practice for the league to check backgrounds on all referees, volunteers, and coaches, Cotnoir submitted his application late and the league skipped his check.

The league finally took action, asking Cotnoir to leave the field, after learning of his background from a reporter. Armand Cotnoir, a former police officer, has five felonies and served 14 months in federal prison.

“We’re furious about it,” said John Walters, supervisor for the Souther Independent Conference Officials Alliance, “How do I explain to referees that it’s okay for coaches to be convicted of a felony? We have less contact with children then the coaches do.” Walters had to turn down five referee applicants based on convictions that turned up in their background checks, including one man who had been convicted on a tax evasion charge several years ago.

How can this be allowed to happen? The committee which overheard the appeal was made up of a group of volunteers who are associated with the league — many of which are close friends of Cotnoir.