He was raised by his mother, who was a worker at a Louis Marx and Company factory, making big wheel tricycles.

In the same year he met his father, he witnessed a friend die from an accidental gunshot wound to the head.

[7] In 1985, he was an assistant coach for the John Marshall High School baseball team that won the West Virginia Class AAA State Championship.

[9] In addition to refereeing, Valentine also works part-time for the North Charleston Recreation Department.

[9] In 1981, he attended a refereeing camp in Bristol, Connecticut, run by NBA Hall of Fame member Dallas Shirley.

[6] Valentine worked his first NCAA Division I basketball game in 1981 at the former Baptist College, now Charleston Southern University.

Wortman was looking to diversify his staff, and after an interview offered Valentine a job refereeing 30 games.

[5] Valentine was to work the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in Indianapolis but was sent home because of COVID-19 protocols as he either tested positive or was in close contact with a fellow referee who tested positive after arriving in Indianapolis.

[13] Valentine was censured for making the "clearly erroneous" second technical, and was placed under restrictions for non-conference Big Ten Conference basketball games for the following season.

[8][14] On March 1, 2014, during a game involving the Cincinnati Bearcats, the team's coach Mick Cronin contested an out of bounds call.

[15][16][6] On January 3, 2018, Valentine was involved in an incident during an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game where Joel Berry II was coming to talk to him about a call.

[17][18] Berry's head coach Roy Williams was not critical of Valentine's officiating in the game.

[20] In March, 2018, Valentine was informed he would not be working the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.