[DownTownTonyBrown]

Assigning yourself games is AN OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

It is a silly question. THE CONFLICT IS OBVIOUS. Don't look for platitudes from me that this is acceptable. I do not feel that it is okay.

It is a common COI that occurs in many leagues as evidenced by the responses received. It may be an accepted practice but acceptance doesn't change the fact that it is still a COI. The Assigner that determines his own income and game assignments doesn't have a leg to stand on when someone complains... the saving grace is "Who is going to complain to the assignor?" This is the guy that also determines the games I receive. If I complain, then what games will I get?

If this is a league where officials are evaluated (by the coaches for example)... again who is going to complain. If I give a bad evaluation to the guy that assigns the games... what officials will I receive for my next game?

If the assigner gets all the great evaluations... who gets chosen to do all the highest level of games? Who goes to work the State tournament? The Assigner?

I am aware of a assigner/commissioner that always assigned himself the highest games; sometimes worked games for his own school where he was the Vice Principal; sent himself and his daughter to the State Tournament... repeatedly; if his own team was going to state, he would ride the bus with the team but still collect travel/per diem money. I am aware of an assigner, that with his son, worked every gameday during the American Legion season; always took the best games and those with the most travel money.

Did people complain? Only quietly. Did the complaints change anything? No.

Both of the officials mentioned above are excellent officials. But once a person takes one step to diminish their integrity, it makes the next, almost imperceptible. Integrity is a yes/no deal. You can't have some - it's all or nothing.

Of course the person working in this obvious COI situation feels they can properly work the game and maintain their integrity... perhaps they can make the proper/correct/fair/just calls BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THE PERCEPTION that they had opportunity to make biased calls or biased game assignments. And COI is about perception.

In my opinion, an assigner that works games should only work those games that he absolutely cannot get anyone else to cover and they should obviously NOT be the biggest, most important games - they should be games that no one else will even notice. Those games deserve good officials too. An assigner should not be eligible for big games and state tournament assignments.

It's your integrity. Obviously many before you have been faced with the same decision... and many chose to BOTH assign and work games that they have assigned themselves. We don't hear about those that chose to only work games or those that chose to only assign games - they had no COI.

Again, it is your integrity. Forgive me, but don't expect consolation from me. It is not a position I would put myself in.