What would happen if Charter Oak and Bishop Amat girls met in the Division 3A playoffs? Wiard would be in a tough spot

The Charter Oak girls basketball team is the ninth seed in the watered-down Division 3A basketball playoffs. Bishop Amat is the third seed. Amat advancing to the championship is a huge possibility while the Chargers are a longshot, but not impossible. But here’s the problem, Richard Wiard is both the athletic director at Charter Oak and the girls basketball coach at Bishop Amat. I don’t mind Wiard having both duties, he’s a coaching legend in these parts and is someone with great character, but this is a tough spot for him to be in. A meeting in the final would be a disaster for Wiard and raise a huge conflict of interest question. Fortunately for Wiard, Charter Oak is on the opposite side of the Division 3A bracket. Wiard can thank CIF for doing so, it would have been a P.R., disaster for Wiard if Amat had to meet Charter Oak in the first or second round. How would that look? There are no CIF rules preventing Wiard from being the AD at one school and a coach at another, but there are always the ethical issues of what happens if they meet, especially in the playoffs, or in this case, the championship. Good scheduling can prevent the two from meeting in a non-league or tournament, but CIF is CIF, Wiard has no control once the brackets are released.

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