Minor league team fires PA announcer revealed to be sex offender

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In late February, front-office officials for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks auditioned about 50 candidates to become the team's next public address announcer.

The one they chose turned out to be a convicted sex offender.

Scott Foster was fired Monday from the job he had held for less than two weeks, the team confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal . A RubberDucks spokesman declined to elaborate on the dismissal and would not say if the team conducted a background check before hiring Foster.

The Indians affiliate announced Foster's hiring on April 8, trumpeting the Akron native's enthusiasm and energy and noting that he serves as a disc jockey for 40-50 weddings annually.

But the Beacon Journal found Foster had been convicted in 2004 of sending sexually explicit emails and making suggestive comments to two 13-year-old girls while he was working as a middle school teacher. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 180 days of house arrest and ordered to undergo counseling. He also had to register his address for 10 years.

The Beacon Journal reached Foster on Monday before he had been notified of his dismissal by the team.

“Obviously, I’m not aware of the situation and I’m totally shocked,” Foster said.

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Marc Lancaster is a senior editor at The Sporting News