The future of a local minor hockey coach is in the air.
Stanley "Trent" Norris remains behind the bench of his Windsor Minor Hockey Association's team even though he has a criminal record in the United States.
According to CTV Windsor, Norris was convicted of aggravated assault in Florida in 2001 and was deported back to Canada.
He is a volunteer assistant coach of the Peewee Minor AA team.
Norris' criminal record was brought to the attention of the League's Vice President of Travel in October.
Jamie Bornais says he asked some WMHA committee members, including President Dean Lapierre, to suspend him while they investigated but his request was denied.
Bornais told CTV, he made another request and was ignored.
He has since resigned from the board along with another board member.
President Dean Lapierre tells CTV News the WMHA is "working closely" with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association about Norris.
“There is a process that is followed when there are questions brought up regarding any volunteer,” says Lapierre, who declined to comment further until that investigation is complete.
In a statement to CTV News, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association says "The OMHA follows a specific and detailed Criminal Record Check Policy within Canada, which applies to all OMHA members holding the title of team official (including but not limited to head coach, assistant coach, trainer, assistant trainer, manager), on-ice official, on-ice volunteer and anyone else deemed by the OMHA to be closely interacting with players."
It goes on to say "In situations such as this - a potential case outside of Canada’s borders - the OMHA will work closely with the Windsor Minor Hockey Association, before commenting or ruling on the specific circumstances. Safety is a priority for all OMHA members and we are working to bring it to the proper conclusion."
The league is meeting with parents of the team this Friday.
The news follows an incident in January 2017 when parents and community members called for Lapierre to resign over disparaging comments against women he made on Facebook.
Lapierre said he regretted making those comments, and deleted his Facebook account after he was suspended for two months.
He resumed his position as President in April 2017.