Conflict of Interest...

[BloggingRefGuy]

I don't have any children, but I'm a HS teacher, and I won't ref the school where I work. Assignor once either overlooked or ignored this and put me on a JV game for a whole truckload of girls I teach--this in my second year of officiating. I didn't know they were the team until I walked into the gym. Luckily, I had a very strong partner who told the coach that I was only an emergency replacement. He told the coach not to call me by name, told the team not to call me by name, and even told the boys' JV team sitting in the stands not to call me by name. Thank goodness he was there. I don't think anybody had any idea about anything, but I still had a terrible game. I considered how every call I made impacted my students instead of just calling the game.

I'm moving to a smaller city this summer, so staying away from my HS will be a little more difficult (fewer games to officiate in the area). Still, I'll insist on avoiding the situation. If anybody found out I taught at a school where I reffed, my reputation would be finished. I won't go there.