NFL Replacement Refs: NFL Replaces Legitimacy With Hypocrisy 

Enough is enough.

The NFL is beginning to become a joke–a sick one at that–by the ultimate pranksters, Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners. Their answer to saving money, in the form of replacement referees, has made a mockery of the NFL and put its legitimacy into question. The game of football is being tarnished by America’s premier professional sports league.

But the men who control it simply do not care.

They know that they can get away with almost anything, and no one can stop them. No matter what they do, coaches will coach, players will play and fans will watch the games. Coaches, players and fans alike will all complain, gripe and moan, demanding a change from the replacement referees back to the experienced, locked-out officials.

Goodell and team owners respond with laughter.

They know the NFL has become such an integral part in all our lives that they can rule with an iron fist and we cannot stop them. It is simply not possible; we all love the game of football and everything it encompasses so much that we are incapable of letting it go.

More and more of us fans contribute to the record ratings the NFL sees every year.

While we do this, they pocket more money.

The money that could be spent to pay real referees, not scrubs off the streets that are too overwhelmed by the professional level of football to call a game correctly and consistently. The money that could stop the NFL from being embarrassed nationally week after week over their stingy actions. The money that could prevent serious injuries to the players that they so desperately try to promote safety for.

The money that could put an end to the hypocrisy of the NFL.

It is hard to believe that the NFL cares about players and their safety. It is a front to their scheme. They promote the seriousness of concussions, mandate the wear of knee and thigh pads (effective next season), and insist that a bounty program intended to hurt other players. Yet, Goodell and team owners want an 18-game schedule. They lockout referees with years of experience on how to officiate the game, simultaneously controlling coaches and players in the process. Also, the league office has yet to publically release any defining evidence of a pay-to-injure system.

This is because they do not care. They will not care. As long as they are making money, the sport that makes them that money will not matter.

And that whole “integrity of the game” Goodell always preaches? Non-existent.

Not with these replacement referees.

Through the preseason and first two weeks of the regular season, the complaints about the replacement referees have rapidly increased. More and more coaches and players are publically speaking out against the replacement referees due to their lacks in consistency, knowledge of the game and ability to control the emotions that arise in the heat of the moment.

It is evident to everyone. Except Goodell and team owners, of course.

Coaches and players now know what they can and cannot get away with, fully taking advantage of replacement referees that are still mesmerized by the sheer magnitude that the professional level of football offers. Coaches and players alike have been able to get penalty flags thrown in their favor, and picked up off the field like it never happened. A home crowd’s chorus of boos can help get calls in their favor. Additionally, players are able to get away with late hits and post-play cheap shots because they know they can with these replacement referees.

This is because the replacement referees are pushovers.

This was obvious is Monday night’s Broncos-Falcons game. The scrum that ensued between both sides following a fumble was so poorly handled by the replacement referees that it is surprising no one was seriously hurt. It took the replacement referees so long to regain control of the game; their game. There have been some awful and some questionable calls in nearly every game, but none were more of a debacle than this game.

This nationally televised primetime game.

We all needed a complete collapse in the replacement referees officiating in hopes that Goodell and team owners would see how much better off they were with the locked-out officials. There is going to be a ton of criticism this week over the replacement referees, particularly those involved in the Broncos-Falcons game. The NFL is going to be hard-pressed to truthfully answer the questions that are to come.

Sadly, it will likely not be enough.

Though I would never want or wish anyone to be hurt playing football, especially outside the field of play (after the whistle), that could unfortunately be what is needed to change the status quo. If that Broncos-Falcons scrum turned into a full out, benches clearing brawl reminiscent of Miami-Florida International, with people seriously getting hurt, there would be an immediate change to who officiates NFL games. But that should never need to happen.

The NFL needs to act responsibly.

Goodell and team owners are putting the league’s legitimacy into question, compromising the integrity of the game at the same time. It is their fault, not the fault of the replacement referees thrown into a level of football that they are clearly not properly prepared for. It is imperative that the locked-out officials return, no matter what the cost.

Or is it too expensive for a multi-millionaire commissioner and owners of teams worth billions?

If so, then there is no regard for the game of football. There is no care for player safety. There is nothing except a commissioner and team owners who hold power and wealth that demand for more without ever losing anything in return. These people say one thing and do the complete opposite.

That is what we call hypocrisy.

That is what the NFL has become.