The Big Ten will begin conducting annual background checks on all of its football and men’s and women’s basketball referees after a report that one of the conference’s top game officials has a history of problems with the law.

Stephen Pamon, who led a Big Ten football officiating crew that came under fire for its performance in two games this season, has a history of bankruptcy, casino gambling, child abuse, and allegations of sexual harassment, Yahoo Sports reported.

The revelations come several months after an NBA referee pleaded guilty to felony charges that he had bet on games he officiated and provided inside information to gamblers.

There is no evidence Mr. Pamon gambled on college football. But the article says that the referee filed for bankruptcy in 2002, when and his wife had more than $400,000 in liabilities, and that two of the creditors were casinos. The article also says that Mr. Pamon allegedly admitted beating his girlfriend’s sons with an electrical cord, and that he was fired from his job with the Chicago Police Department in 1996 after being accused of sexually harassing female officers. —Brad Wolverton