Chad Curtis

[1] In 2013, Curtis was convicted of sexually assaulting three underage female students while he was employed at Lakewood High School in Lake Odessa, Michigan.

[4][5] He attended Benson High School, where he played baseball and varsity football, but was kicked off the basketball team for being "too fiery" and becoming involved in fights.

[8][10] During his first season as a Tiger, Curtis hit .268 with 21 homers and 67 runs batted in, while leading the American League with 670 plate appearances.

The Tigers, who had planned on releasing Curtis at the end of the season, traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31, 1996, for relief pitchers John Cummings and Joey Eischen.

In the 1999 American League Division Series Curtis played in all three games, and scored one run despite not recording any hits.

[9] In the 1999 American League Championship Series, he scored a run and stole a base, again without recording a hit.

"[19] Then-Yankees manager Joe Torre later said there was no such unified effort to snub Gray from either Yankees players or front office staff, and that Curtis had acted alone.

[19] During Curtis' playing time in New York he was known "more for his aggressive proselytizing and capacity for moral reprobation than anything he did on the field.

"[20] On December 13, 1999, the Yankees traded Curtis to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Brandon Knight and Sam Marsonek.

"[20] During the 2000 season, Curtis became the first right-handed batter to hit a home run into the upper deck in right field at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

[31] After retiring from Major League Baseball, Curtis earned a teaching certificate at the evangelical Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[20] Curtis then worked for two years as a physical education teacher and coach at Caledonia High School, outside of Grand Rapids.

[20] As a major league baseball player, he chastised teammates for missing chapel, listening to explicit rap, and watching The Jerry Springer Show on television.

[20] In May 2012, after several female students accused him of "inappropriate touching," Curtis resigned from his positions at Lakewood Public Schools.

[38] In June 2012, Curtis was ordered to stand trial for five counts of criminal sexual conduct ranging from misdemeanors to felonies carrying a potential 15-year sentence.

[44][45] In an hour-long address to the court, Curtis accused all his victims of lying; he claimed that they made unwelcome sexual advances to him.

[42] On October 3, 2013, Curtis was sentenced by Barry County Circuit Court Judge Amy McDowell to 7 to 15 years in prison.

[42][46] In February 2015, Curtis's criminal convictions were upheld by the Michigan state appeals court in a 3–0 decision.

[49][50] After Curtis's conviction, his former teammate Gabe Kapler wrote: I'm floored that I misjudged the character of a man so horribly.

I'm confident in my assessment, however, that he'll represent the last time that I allow the veil of religion and perceived moral high ground to impede my better judgment of another human being's fiber.

Citing recorded telephone conversations between Chad and Candace Curtis, plaintiff's attorney Monica Beck said, "They [Curtis and his ex-wife] transferred lots of money, vehicles, houses, and disposed and liquidated a lot of their assets, which they then tried to hide from the state of Michigan and then tried to hide from our client."

Beck also cited a statement by Candace Curtis during one of those telephone conversations: "I'm trying to keep things out of (victim's) hands.