As the referee lockout continues, more talk about the unreliable replacement referees has surfaced. Many players, owners and coaches have voiced their opinion about the quality of work that has been done this season. Comedian and late night TV host, Stephan Colbert sheds a humorous light on the situation during his late night show The Colbert Report. Click to watch Stephan Colbert’s Sports Report.
Comedian and late night TV host, Stephan Colbert, pokes fun at the referee lockout during a segment on his show called the Sports Report
For those who have not been informed about the National Football League referee lockout it can be simply broken down by stating: the referees want to be paid more and the league refuses, saying they are asking for far too much. The referee union is a 119-man organization that demands they be paid equivalent to officials from the NBA, NHL and MLB. The salary of a NFL referee ranges from $25,000 to $70,000 a year. This is substantially less than a Major League Baseball umpire who earns about $141,000 annually.
This issue lies in the length of the season and the part-time nature of a NFL referee’s job. Unlike NBA, NHL and MLB referees who work as full-time officials during much longer seasons, NFL officials hold down other jobs and only work part-time during the sixteen game football season. For example, one of the most visible faces in the NFL referee union is Ed Hochuli, an experienced official who has worked for the NFL since 1990. When Hochuli is not wearing his black and white stripes, he flaunts a suit and tie as a successful trial lawyer and a partner in an Arizona law firm.
The job of a NFL ref does not begin and end between the white lines. The NFL has required a lot more from refs over the years with increasingly more rules to protect players and required concussion awareness training. Referees spend countless hours before and after games reviewing game film and rules.
This referee lockout has proven to be detrimental to the credibility of the NFL and to America’s greatest and most watched sport. As we enter week four of the NFL season fans, players and coaches have began to reach their tipping point and the situation has officially began to become out of control.
The final minutes of last nights Monday Night Football matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks caused the referee lockout to go from bad to worse. One picture has never fit more appropriately in the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Seattle, WA September 24: Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate and Packers Safety M.D. Jennings fight for a hail mary ball in the end zone as time expires in Monday nights game. Referees call causes uncertainty, confusion and anger.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a hail mary into the end zone where several players jumped at the chance to grab it, including Seahawks WR Golden Tate and Packers safety M.D. Jennings. As shown above, one referee signaled touchdown the other signaled no catch, and the final seconds of the game expired. Mass confusion ensued after the play and neither team knew which way the call would go. After the official review the touchdown stood as a simultaneous catch and the Seahawks moved to 2-1 with a tainted 14-12 victory over the Packers. Jokes immediately arose as people were calling it the first ever game winning interception and the first Touchception, as it is now being named, exploded the Twitter world. Players and fans lashed out against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell.
Green Bay Packers guard TJ Lang lashes out at the NFL after the controversial ending to the MNF game.
This controversial play will be shown relentlessly online and on the worlds leading sports channel, ESPN. The replay shows that the referees not only muffed up the touchdown call, but missed a very obvious offensive pass interference call committed by none other than Golden Tate.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers’ post game news conference said it all with one sentence, “It was awful, that’s all I’m going to say about it.” Rogers and head coach Mike McCarthy had little to say about the controversial call but enough could be read through their emotions. During the news conference Rogers claimed he would be over it by Tuesday morning, but that was not the case.
The MVP quarterback addressed the incident on his weekly radio show, ESPN 540 in Milwaukee. During a nearly seventy-minute rant Rogers stated: “The product that is on the field is not being complemented by an appropriate set of officials. The games are getting out of control. … The game is being tarnished by an NFL that obviously cares more about saying some money than having the integrity of the game diminished a little bit.”
Until now, most players have kept their thoughts about the referee lockout to themselves, but as the NFL’s official statement on this final play came out today, so did many new opinions from players. One of the most respected players in the NFL, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, voiced his opinion on his Twitter account stating, “I love this league and love the game of football, but tonight’s debacle hurts me greatly. This is NOT the league we’re supposed to represent.” After learning that the NFL has backed the officials touchdown call Brees stated via Twitter, “Ironic that our league punishes those based on conduct detrimental. Whose CONDUCT is DETRIMENTAL now?”
It’s only a matter of time until the referees blow another huge call such as this one and further damage the NFL’s reputation and the integrity of this game. The NFL needs to come to a solution, and do so quickly, before the entire 2012 season has to be marked with an asterisk.
A Woman's Guide to Football 