Former high school and college basketball referee Sen.Jim Tracy is backing legislation making it state law for the TSSAA to take a closer look at the criminal history of high school officials.
Tracy, a Shelbyville Republican who represents part of Rutherford County, is sponsoring a bill this session requiring criminal background checks and fingerprinting of referees and officials of interscholastic games.
"I think with what happened in some parts of the state where we had some of the guys officiating that had some problems with their background, I think it's the right thing to do," Tracy said.
People who have sexual offenses in their past certainly don't need to be working "around our children," he said.
Tracy pointed out when he called NCAA basketball games, he submitted to a criminal background check each year. "It's a no-brainer for me," he added.
Tracy's legislation meshes with a decision by the TSSAA Board of Control, which voted unanimously in November to conduct background checks of anyone registering to work as a referee. The investigation would be done annually through the organization's online registration system.
