State Ethics Commission Cracks Down on Coaches Promoting Private Sports Camps

On April 30, the State Ethics Commission ordered a Medfield High School’s Head Football Coach to pay a $16,000 civil penalty for violating the Conflict of Interest Law by using his coaching position and public resources to promote and encourage students to attend his private, for-profit football and athletic condition camps. The Commission stated that the Medfield Coach would promote his private camps to student athletes, stating that attending the camps was “strongly recommended.” The Commission noted that he also promoted the camps on the Medfield Football Twitter account, used Medfield High School imagery to promote the camps on his private website, and used his municipal email account and a school listserv to send information promoting his camps to students and parents, including all students on the football team. He also encouraged his assistant football coaches to work at his camps. 

The Commission held:  

By using his position as Head Coach and other Medfield High School resources to promote his private camps to Medfield students, and by recruiting his high school assistant coaches to staff those camps, [the Coach] violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees using their official positions or other public resources to obtain substantially valuable unwarranted privileges for themselves or others. Also, by as Head Coach including in the high school’s annual Fall Sports Information Night presentations references to his private camps and recommendations that students attend them, [he] violated the law’s prohibition against municipal employees participating officially in matters in which they know they or their private business organizations have a financial interest. 

In addition, Ormberg violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against a municipal employee representing or acting as agent for anyone other than the municipality in any matter in which the municipality is a party or has a direct and substantial interest by communicating with Medfield High School staff on behalf of [his camps] regarding the use of school facilities. 

This decision is a good reminder for all municipal employees, especially those that may tutor, coach or assist students or residents outside of work hours, about the limitations placed on them by the Conflict of Interest Law.