There’s a flag on the play. A saying that the National Football League players, coaches and fans are far too familiar with hearing this 2012 football season.
The NFL locked out their full-time referees in June after their contract expired. Replacement referees were brought in and they have made a lot of people scratch their head in confusion and frustration.
This is the first NFL season since 2001 where the league has used replacement referees. Some refs being used are Division II and III refs who have never officiated a professional game.
There is a problem with that. There is also a problem with a current replacement official that told a player that he needed the player to perform well in order to better his fantasy football team.
A recent ESPN article stated that Philadelphia Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy was told by one ref this season that he needed McCoy to have a good game for his fantasy squad.
Let me pause for a second and try not to laugh. Was this a grown man saying this or was it a 21-year- old college student bragging to his friend at happy hour that he finally got to meet a professional athlete?
Regardless, these 2012 replacement referees have caused a lot of controversy. Is this their own fault, or should we be blaming the NFL and the regular refs?
What is in the way of making this a reality are the retirement benefits and the NFL owners’ idea of new accountability standards for referees.
A recent Fox News article discussed what the regular referees are upset about with current negotiations.
“On the retirement issue, refs currently have a guaranteed pension that the owners would like to convert to a market-vulnerable 401(k) plan. The NFL owners are seeking new accountability by gaining the ability to pull poorly-performing refs and replace them from what would be a new pool of backup referees.”
The NFL is a league where this should not be happening. The NFL racks up over $9 billion in revenue a year. The fans, coaches and players do not deserve replacement referees.
Just look at last Sunday night’s game between the Patriots and Ravens. There were a total of 24 penalties in the game for a total of 218 yards that no doubt dictated the outcome of the game.
Watching the game first-hand, half of the calls were inaccurate, just ask the team’s coaches as they were yelling and disputing with the replacement refs all game.
There was even a chant led by the Ravens’ fans that was heard clearly on TV, a chant that rhymed with “bull mit.” You catch my drift.
This past Monday night had one of the worst calls I have ever seen, and it actually decided the outcome of the game. On the last play of the game, Russell Wilson scrambled around as time expired, heaved a ball to the end zone and it was caught…by a Green Bay Packer.
The play was ruled a touchdown, reviewed, and upheld even though the replay clearly showed the defender had possession. Not to mention, wide receiver Golden Tate pushed off before making this “catch”.