Leading off today: The story is about a coach but the lesson is one that young athletes need to take to heart -- namely that old controversies in which you've found yourself entangled never go away in the Internet era.
News broke over the weekend that former Buffalo McKinley boys basketball coach James Daye was fired last month about five weeks after being hired to coach in Idaho. It came to light after a newspaper uncovered the circumstances that led him to surrender his certification to teach in New York in 2009.
Daye and recently hired girls soccer coach Evan Curry had their employment offers for the upcoming school year rescinded after questions arose about their backgrounds. The Idaho Statesmen reported the episode raised internal questions in the school district about how thoroughly applicants get vetted after being identified as prospective candidates for a position.
Daye had coached McKinley to a Section 6 championship in 2007 but found himself suspended in March 2008 by then-Superintendent James Williams following an allegation that he had an affair with a 17-year-old female student in Greenville, S.C., while Daye was a boys basketball coach there. That disclosure came after a McKinley girls basketball volunteer was fired shortly after raising concerns about seeing Daye leave the home of a relative of a member of the girls team in August 2007.
Though he maintained his innocence, Daye ended up resigning on the eve of a hearing in front of the New York State Education Department to determine whether he had "the requisite moral character to teach in the public schools of the State of New York."
It was reported at the time that NYSED would notify all New York school districts that Daye no longer was certified to teach and that the information would be submitted to a national clearinghouse. The fact that his status was either not uncovered or was disregarded led to last week's disclosures of the dismissal in Idaho.
"We are looking carefully at our hiring process," Nampa School District spokeswoman Kathleen Tuck told the Statesman.
The firing triggered protests in support of Daye on Monday.
Daye had coached Nampa's junior-varsity girls last season, was also involved in a YMCA program and ran a private coaching business, but it was the June hiring announcement that triggered interest in his background. A Boise TV reporter reached out to me in mid-June seeking guidance on where to find more background on Daye after reading about the McKinley controversy on the Internet.
Daye told the newspaper he informed Nampa High about that allegation before coaching JV girls last season.
"It's like murderers have probably had less scrutiny than I have over an unproven allegation," Daye said, adding that he gave up the fight in New York after spending $60,000 on legal fees.
District officials said they couldn't confirm or deny if Nampa knew of the allegation.
Daye's attorney, Robert Huntley, wrote in a letter to KTVB-TV: "We could be wrong, but i believe a thorough investigation will demonstrate that there is no credible foundation for the allegations stemming from his time in South Carolina. It is conceded by all who have fairly examined the facts, that there is absolutely no substance to anything which was alleged to have happened in Buffalo or Greenville."
Perspective: It absolutely should matter whether or not
