Article: MSHSAA investigates referee for potential conflict of interest

[Raymond]

Where were these parents when they played in December and no one said a thing about him officiating the game?

[Rich]

I wonder why it's OK for these parents to defame a person who's, obviously, a well-respected official.

He should sue them. That would be entertaining.

[JerryLundagard]

This situation certainly has been the talk of the local officiating scene lately. I have known Mark, the official in question, for over 20 years. He is a quality official and a quality person. In talking to him he was caught completely by surprise that this was even an issue. It never dawned on him that his association with an AAU club could create this sort of firestorm.
It will be interesting to see how MSHSAA proceeds with clarifying what is a conflict of interest.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by JerryLundagard

It never dawned on him that his association with an AAU club could create this sort of firestorm...

On the surface, this looks like a lot ado about nothing. Quality veteran official being attacked by biased, bitter, overzealous parents. HOWEVER...The article states he is part "OWNER" of a program that had players in a game that he officiated. Ownership is a bit more than an "association" IMO. If that is in fact accurate, I can see how the "conflict" accusation arose.

My bet is that this is an AAU program. If so...more evidence that AAU generally causes more problems for officials than any other basketball organization.

[Nevadaref]

The solution is simple.
Don't put yourself in such situations.
If you have a connection with players, a coach, or a school don't work the contest!

[JetMetFan]

I'm sure the official is a fine official and a fine person, but...

It's the appearance of impropriety that causes the problem. There's a reason why at the NCAA level the ECAC asks us to fill out a form to show *any* relationship you may have with any of its member colleges (alum, kids, parents, relatives who are employees, relatives who are alums, etc). There's a reason why we have scratch lists at the HS level. Don't give anyone an excuse to question your integrity.

I gave up a GV playoff game this year because it involved my alma mater (my mistake for not making the school my one and only scratch) and I'm more than a few years removed from HS. It wasn't worth the potential headache.

Originally Posted by Matt

Love how Paul keeps harping on the word "potential" as if it means that he's really not making an allegation.

If it wasn't Facebook, I'd post about how Paul Xm is a potential child molester. Hey, it doesn't mean it's actually true, right?

I wouldn't do that. According to his Facebook he is a lawyer, which probably explains his ambiguous language.

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Where were these parents when they played in December and no one said a thing about him officiating the game?

Well the game then didn't mean as much of course!

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

The article states he is part "OWNER" of a program that had players in a game that he officiated. Ownership is a bit more than an "association" IMO. If that is in fact accurate, I can see how the "conflict" accusation arose.

Absolutely. This is a much more serious conflict of interest than that which a Forum member posted about earlier this season.