View Single Post
  #4 (permalink)  
Old Mon Apr 19, 2010, 09:37am
jkumpire jkumpire is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 685
Not an easy decision, but here is my .02

UMP,

Here are the questions I think you have to answer:

1. Does working with him offend your conscience to the point that you think it is morally wrong to work the game with him?
2. Can you work with him at this game as a partner, and treat him like any other partner in a game?
3. Are you willing to accept the consequences of refusing to work with him?
4. Does his status as an admitted felon disqualify him from working as an umpire?

In my opinion, I believe you should still work with him. If you or I were his assignor, we might treat him differently. But the assigner has made a decision that he is still eligible to work, and that is his responsibility, not yours. It seems clear that there are no legal liability issues to negatively affect you in the act of working with him. So the questions about working with him revolve around your attitudes towards him.

If he is going to jail for a long time, then his career may well be over in a short time. Maybe a little bit of grace and kindness is what he needs before he pays his debt to society. Maybe you can give him that, maybe you can't. That's up to you.

He certainly will take some hits from the fans or even the players at this game, and he needs a partner who be in his corner during the game on the field. If you can't do that, then don't work the game.

Great question, and I hope the advice helps.