Police charge Catholic church-league hoops coach with trying to bribe referees

Meanwhile, over in the Harrisburg, PA suburb of Enola, we have former Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church boy’s basketball coach Michael Kman, who only did what you or I would do if we thought we weren’t getting a fair shake from the refs. He sent them several text messages offering bribes of $2,500 to fix games in his favor. You know, many of us only talk a good game when it comes to game fixing in church-league youth sports. But guys like Kman do something about it. Key quote:

“Kman stated that he was very frustrated with the officials and felt that his team was never getting a fair game,” wrote Trooper Timothy Reinoehl.

“Kman stated that he was never going to pay anyone money, he just thought he could get them (to) give his team a chance on the court.”

Kman, 45, allegedly sent a series of anonymous calls and text messages to the officials last year to get them to help Our Lady of Lourdes, a CYO team, team in league competition. From the Hartford Courant:

District court officials said Thursday afternoon the judge had not signed the arrest warrant. Kman declined to comment and hung up when contacted by a reporter.

The arrest affidavit said Kman offered the referees, who are brothers, $2,500 to fix two games and promised more if they showed they could be trusted with lower-level contests.

Yeah, there’s more where that came from, fellas. We’ve got the fifth grade playoffs coming up, and I have a feeling that Holy Name of Mary is going down this year. HARD.
Of course this also throws into question the official results of the annual Diocesan Spelling Bee.
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Former coach accused of trying to bribe refs to rig Pa. church-league basketball games [Hartford Courant]