In the comments to the recent post about Rich Perelman, the LAT's new Bruin blogger, it was pointed out the Mr. Perelman might be the official scorer for UCLA hoops.
Others suggested that this might be a conflict of interest. To get the the bottom of the issue, DumpDorrell posed the question:
You got to give the guy credit; within a couple hours, we had his response:
When approached by Los Angeles Times Sports Editor Randy Harvey about nominating someone to write this blog for LATimes.com, I noted this potential conflict, but it was cleared by both The Times and by UCLA so long as I continued my statistical work strictly as a volunteer.
It's no doubt commendable that Mr. Perelman disclosed his close association with UCLA athletics before taking the gig. That was the right thing to do.
But it's troubling nonetheless that someone ostensibly acting as an objective reporter on UCLA sports would be so cozy with the Morgan Center, even on a volunteer basis. Even more so, it is troubling that Mr. Perelman was apparently approved ("cleared") by UCLA before he took the job.
Does this mean the Mr. Perelman is a bad guy? Certainly not. Does it mean that he's wearing two hats, and has, as he himself acknowledges, a "potential conflict" of interest? Yes.
When posed with this concern, Perelman again provided a rapid response:
So, now we know. And we can keep this in mind when we read his articles going forward.
GO BRUINS.