 |
| The NFL needs Ed Hochuli's guns this season. |
Unless you've been following the riveting world of sports labor negotiations, you may have missed that the NFL is currently locking out another union. This time, it's the league's contract negotiations with its officials that have spilled from the negotiating table into the court of public opinion.
In the league's defense, the referees' demands are significant. The rumor is that the impasse comes out to $100,000 per team (which is a nicer way of saying $3.2 million). If you want to assume a seven-man officiating crew for each of the 16 games a week, that's a $28,000 raise per ref. For about 18 weekends of work, that's not exactly chump change.
The NFL is using replacement referees during the preseason, and the locked out officials have taken every opportunity to disparage the so-called scabs. Former head of officiating, Mike Pereira, claims that one of the substitute officials was dismissed from the Lingerie Football League (yes, that is a real thing). You could almost hear the groans from 345 Park Avenue when the replacements called the coin toss incorrectly at this Sunday's Hall of Fame Game.
August gaffes aren't anything to get too worked up about, as even the most seasoned officials are rusty early in the year (cut to Al Michaels saying, "Remember, it's preseason for the officials too."). Plus, some fans would say, "who cares who the league hires to get the calls wrong?" But with the implementation of instant replay and stricter player safety rules, referees have more power and responsibility than ever before. Inevitably there will be a in which a team and its fans think they were complete screwed by a controversial call. It would behoove the NFL not to give them a lightning rod to direct their criticism towards. Let's hope that this year's lockout has as little effect on the real season as last year's did.
You can follow me on Twitter at @BostonGiant.
Image found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment