Water polo referee Jenn McCall whistling her way toward Olympic history

LONG BEACH — Jenn McCall remembers the feeling of being doubted as an up-and-coming water polo referee. It tugged at her like a riptide.

“You walk on the deck and it’s like, ‘Oh (she’s) young, blonde, female. She doesn’t know anything,’” she recalled.

But McCall knew plenty about the sport from her playing days in high school and college. And just as important, she knew not to listen to the skeptics.

McCall honed her craft for 15 years, and recently earned the most prestigious assignment in the sport.