Monday, October 11th 2021, 10:56 pm
The City of Edmond will no longer be partnering with Edmond All Sports Incorporated (EASI).
EASI currently manages the city's youth sports.
Council members voted Monday night to start the process of ending its contract after a man under investigation in connection with the rape of a child was hired to umpire a baseball game.
Owner and director of EASI pleaded with the council members not to end its contract.
But the council decided to go in another direction, and said this latest incident was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Council members ultimately agreed with parents' growing list of concerns regarding EASI.
Read: Edmond Parents Upset After Man Arrested On Child Rape Complaint Umpires Youth Baseball Game
“We advocate for our children, and my question to you is, is this the best we can do?” said concerned parent Jenifer Standish.
“Out of all the youth sports in Edmond, since I’ve been on council, by far the most complaints I’ve received are from the baseball fields,” said Ward 2 Councilman Josh Moore.
Standish said she was shocked after learning EASI recently hired Levi Clark to umpire youth baseball games at Hafer Park.
Clark was arrested and is under investigation by the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy last year.
Even so, EASI's owner and director Terri Jungles admitted in Monday’s meeting that they went ahead and hired Clark to fill in as an umpire after he passed a background check.
“We based on our examination of the facts we believed him to be not guilty,” said Jungles.
She said because Clark was only under investigation, and charges had not been filed, they greenlighted him.
“We made an impulse decision, one now that's the worst decision of our lives,” said Jungles. “I am truly sorry for the decision made and truly know; I would never harm a child.”
Despite a tearful apology and promise of change the city decided to part ways.
“It didn’t look like it was a hard decision for the council to make, they made it quickly and unanimously voted that the contract was canceled in 60 days,” said Standish.
EASI's contract would have been up in December 2022 but will now be terminated within 60 days.
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