[JRutledge]

If anyone thinks seriously that anyone is hired only on the basis of merit that would be a very uninformed and unrealistic point of view. People in all aspects of life are picked or hired to do things because of outside factors. Sometimes it is who you know and sometimes it is what you know. We could apply this to just about any profession in this country and you will see someone get a job someone could question the merits of that decision. Merit after all is subjective.

I also think people use "politics" as an excuse for why they do not get opportunities too much as well. Are some people held back because who they are? Of course. Some of what holds people back are their own doing. Like not attending the right camps or meetings as other successful officials do. Being unprofessional and throwing fellow officials under the bus. Always complaining about what you did not get. There are so many things I see officials do and say that put them out of the loop.

Quick story. I was supposed to work a varsity game and I was in the locker room during the prelim with two officials talking. One of the officials was an official that moved from another area and had worked in the post-season in our state. Well he was running his mouth in the locker room about a bunch of assignor that he claimed would not hire him and how they were terrible and a bunch of jerks and horrible officials. Well his partner happened to be related to a very prominent official. I was standing in the room and not once did he ask me who I was or why I was there. He went on and on for several minutes as if no one was in the locker room. Well after the prelim game the partner made a comment to me about what this guy was saying. A few weeks later I run into the relative of this official that was just listening to this rant at a college game. The first thing this relative official said to me was about this incident several weeks before. The word had gotten around. It was also clear that many officials over the area either knew about this incident or know something about how this guy’s behavior is displayed on a more regular basis. The irony for the last two years he was paired up with the assignor of the conference of the prelim game I witnessed this little rant. The first year both this official and the assignor had words. The next year they apparently got over the incident and acted professionally. But this one moment in time hurt this official with many in the area and he likely did not work a lot of conferences as a result. So when I hear people complain about how politics held them back, I wonder if there are many similar incidents out there that have held guys back.

You might be the best official in the world, but your behavior on and off the court can hurt you big time.

Peace