Conflict of Interest?

[jeffpea]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

C brings up a big question... if DeMarcus Nelson's (Duke) dad can do his games (He worked him once last year and actually Nelson ended up fouling out but duke won the game) why couldnt' I do one of my kids?

I would find it very hard to believe that DeMarcus Nelson's father was allowed to officiate his game...by the way - DeMarcus is from Elk Grove, CA and his father (Ron Nelson) is a pastor...per the Duke website.

Which game did his father work last year? Can't seem to find it via boxscores...

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by loners4me

When do you turn down games due to a conflict of interest?

A. When coach is a friend?
B. The High School you attended?
C. Your kids games?
D. Your brother is the coach?
E. Your bosses kids playing?
F. Girlfriends kids playing?

Im sure some we've all ran into some of these scenarios

A...depends....acquaintance that you see in sports settings or Friend that you have over to dinner with your family.
B. Timeframe dependant....5-10 years out...OK.
C-F...Yes.


In any metro area there should be enough other games to be had that no officials should ever have to worry about being in one of these situations.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

gonzaga... it was the one at Madison Square Garden. And actually it might not've been Nelson's dad... it was one of the duke player's dads. I thought it was Nelson but it doesn't look like it from the box score. I remember specifically (I'm a huge gonzaga fan) the announcers putting emphasis on it more than once. I honestly thought it was Nelson but I could be wrong.

The officials were Ted Valentine, Mike Eades and Tom Lopes. None of them have a son at Duke.

Fanboys!

[wisref2]

I agree - if you have to think about it - avoid the situation. Just turned down a game this week. The public school from my city (where I am well-known) played the cross-town rival private school (8 miles away) and they wanted me to work the varsity game. It's a huge rivalry, neighbors and cousins playing against each other. That's a no-win situation for me so I declined.

I have worked non-conference varsity football games in which the son of one of my crew was playing - but only because both coaches knew it and have requested our crew for their game for the last 8 years.

[jeffpea]

If I were an assignor, I would NEVER put you on a game in C or D. Not sure how I would know about the other situations listed, but I would expect you to inform me that these situations exist. You may work that game better than anyone else, but the mere perception that there is a conflict of interest is enough to make me adjust the assignment. Why would I want to deal with that potential problem when I can simply make life easier for everyone and avoid it? It is a no win situation for everyone, so just avoid it.

IMHO, if an assignor ever put you on a game where C or D occurs, he's not assigning the game - he just looking for warm bodies....


A. When coach is a friend?
B. The High School you attended?
C. Your kids games?
D. Your brother is the coach?
E. Your bosses kids playing?
F. Girlfriends kids playing?

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

It's not only whether *you* can work impartially, it's whether others might have a reason to question it.

Bob is on the mark. The perception of impartiality is the real question. A genuinely professional official will always be impartial. I just started teaching at a high school in a new state...I could give a rat's patoot whether or not they win their games. But because I teach at the school I won't be assigned any of their games and that makes perfect sense to me. Fortunately I'm in a huge urban area and there are plenty of games.

And as JRut said, "If people want to find a conflict, they will." When I officiated in Hawaii and a close call would go against a visiting mainland team, it wasn't unusual to get a local favoritism/home cooking comment from the visitors. In my southern drawl, my response was always, "Hey, I'm from Tennessee," and it stopped those comments every time.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Corndog89

And as JRut said, "If people want to find a conflict, they will." When I officiated in Hawaii and a close call would go against a visiting mainland team, it wasn't unusual to get a local favoritism/home cooking comment from the visitors. In my southern drawl, my response was always, "Hey, I'm from Tennessee," and it stopped those comments every time.

Yup, instead they now said "Oh, that's why you screwed up."

[Adam]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

hmm... i'm dead serious though. maybe it was another big gonzaga game opponent? I thought that it was the duke game. Actually I'm positive because the announcers continued to say that a duke player had a dad that was the referee. But I guess it could've been another game... I could've swore it was duke

Or, the announcers could have been wrong. :gasp:

[TheOracle]

This happens very frequently in smaller areas. There was a situation last year I heard about where an official called a winner-to-state/loser-out playoff game where his nephew was a player at his alma mater. By some coincidence, that team won the game by a couple of points, and that official made a few questionable calls in favor of his nephew's team down the stretch. This made him look terrible personally, and made his association look poor. The sad thing is that I am sure that the district and state will consider this when future playoff and tournament allocations are made, but that means more for us!

Conflicts of interest should be avoided at all times. Films never lie, and perceptions are reality, fair or not. If in doubt, don't take the assignment. There are plenty of others!

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

Conflicts of interest should be avoided at all times. Films never lie, and perceptions are reality, fair or not. If in doubt, don't take the assignment. There are plenty of others!

I have a question for you. You have a team where the players are one color and the opposing team is another color. Should officials of either color be able to work the game? What do you do when no one is available that is not of same race of both teams?
The reason I ask, is because this is a constant issue where I live or fans make issues out of that fact often. Or fans and even administrators try to make connections with things that are not really connections based only on the color of the official's working the game. How far are you taking avoidance of a conflict? You have to have a line in the sand or you will constantly be. If I remember correctly this was a major issue in the movie Friday Night Lights and how the crew was picked to work the game.

You will never avoid every situation where someone thinks there is a conflict. All appearances of conflicts are not reasonable. Your situation involved a family member, which is why I think most of us can agree that you do not want to work games with relatives as the participants.

Peace

[Terrapins Fan]

Originally Posted by loners4me

When do you turn down games due to a conflict of interest?

A. When coach is a friend?
B. The High School you attended?
C. Your kids games?
D. Your brother is the coach?
E. Your bosses kids playing?
F. Girlfriends kids playing?

Im sure some we've all ran into some of these scenarios

Personally I don't like to officiate a certain catholic high school team where the priest is the coach. Not only do I listen to him every Sunday, he hears my confessions, problems, ect..and gives me these looks when he doesn't like the call. Almost like death rays......and I feel them more from him than anybody else

A- Done that. Also refereed my bosses games. No difference in the way I officiate.

B- I went to 4 local high schools , We have 15 total schools in our league. If I didn't do games where I went to school, I wouldn't be refereeing.

C- I've done that in 2 sports. Same thing, fair game, my son hates when I referee, but he knows I am going to be fair. BTW, he is 10.

D- No brothers

E- No. But I would.

F- Married 13 years.

I have always refereed straight up. I fel no pressure from anyone.

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by Corndog89

And as JRut said, "If people want to find a conflict, they will." When I officiated in Hawaii and a close call would go against a visiting mainland team, it wasn't unusual to get a local favoritism/home cooking comment from the visitors. In my southern drawl, my response was always, "Hey, I'm from Tennessee," and it stopped those comments every time.

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Yup, instead they now said "Oh, that's why you screwed up."

Most visiting teams were from the west coast so I'm not even sure they understood me...certainly most of the Hawaiian kids didn't.

[TheOracle]

Rutledge, that is a great point. If you have a black team against a white team, those perceptions will always be there. Just like if you try and play in a pickup basketball game at a park, the black guys almost never pick up the white guy to run if they can avoid it. There is no avoiding anything there--officials of some race has to do that game, right?--but the film doesn't lie. Lots of conflicts of interest can be avoided. I stopped doing games for coaches I knew at all socially because they'd tell me they thought I went too far to show that I wasn't favoring them. That kind of sucks, but it is probably worth it.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

Rutledge, that is a great point. If you have a black team against a white team, those perceptions will always be there. Just like if you try and play in a pickup basketball game at a park, the black guys almost never pick up the white guy to run if they can avoid it. There is no avoiding anything there--officials of some race has to do that game, right?--but the film doesn't lie. Lots of conflicts of interest can be avoided. I stopped doing games for coaches I knew at all socially because they'd tell me they thought I went too far to show that I wasn't favoring them. That kind of sucks, but it is probably worth it.

If you do this long enough, you will likely know a lot of coaches socially. After that, I couldn't care less what they think. I have a job to do and I am not working a game just because I know a coach unless that coach and I spend Christmas together.

Peace

[Nevadaref]

My area only has two requirements and they only apply to VARSITY contests:
1. No teacher may officiate a game involving the school at which he works.
2. No official may work a game in which he has a participating relative.

Officials may excuse themselves in other situations, if they are not comfortable, but there is no requirement to do so.