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http://www.footballzebras.com/2014/10/15/11606/

NFL and the referees’ union want grades confidential…until they don’t
Commentary by Mark Schultz

The NFL season has gotten off to a contentious start between the front office and the NFL Referees Association, the union representing the on-field and replay officials. The NFLRA has accused the league of throwing the game officials under the bus publicly while supporting their calls privately. This controversy has even trickled down to the college football level, where Pacific-12 Conference supervisor of officiating (and NFL referee), Tony Corrente, recently resigned his college position.

Reports suggest that Corrente felt the Pac-12 didn’t give enough support to its officials. In all cases, an official’s job performance has come under scrutiny, which historically has been a tense situation between a league, its officials, and the public.

During the first seven decades of the NFL, the officiating office operated in a publicity vacuum. As TV began to shine its light on the officials and the calls they made, the officiating department, lead by Art McNally, adopted a “never complain, never explain” philosophy when the media wanted to know answers to judgement calls. Right or wrong, there rarely was any comment from McNally. Sometimes even when an answer affirming the call could have helped the officials there was no comment. This practice, including not commenting to the media even when the call was right, continued under McNally’s successor, Jerry Seeman.

“Transparency” is the buzzword in the 21st century, and in 2001, Mike Pereira, opened the windows of the NFL officiating offices, allowing the media unprecedented access to the officiating department. The vice president for officiating was willing to discuss tough judgement calls. He was quick to praise officials when they made a correct call and he was also willing to admit it when the crew made a mistake. It must have been nice for the officials to finally get public backing for some of their tough calls, but I’m sure it wasn’t fun to have the boss affirm an outraged fan base by declaring another call wrong.

So, where do transparency and job evaluation meet and where should the NFL and the officials draw the curtain to the outside world? The NFLRA has always been very protective of their members when it comes to making grades public. This includes the ranking of officials for playoff games as well as grades for an individual call. I don’t blame them for wanting to keep grades under wraps. Think of it. How would you like your annual job evaluation to be posted on your company’s website for all to see? This can happen to NFL officials on any given week. On the flip side, the fans, whose dollars (and eyeballs fixed on the TV every Sunday), keep the NFL afloat want to know what the NFL is doing to make sure their team is being given a fair chance each weekend. Today’s fan (and journalist) would not stand for the silence that came from McNally or Seeman in years past.

The NFL, in wanting to display the best, most transparent face, of the league to the public has been very upfront about stating its opinion about controversial calls this year. This has incensed the NFLRA, especially after they contend that the NFL was critical of the officials in public, but in private did not downgrade the calls in question. The officials’ union was so upset about the situation, that it broke its long-held tenant and went public about an officials individual grades. The war of news releases got so heated that Pereira, usually an ally of the officials, called out the NFLRA for going public with its grievances.

Football Zebras has reached out to the NFL and the NFLRA this season for comment regarding this controversy. The NFL has twice declined to comment and the officials’ union has not responded to requests for comment.

It seems like both the NFL and the NFLRA want it both ways. The NFL wants to criticize an official about a call, (including one with politically correct connotations) yet not have the public privy to the grade actually given to the official. The NFLRA doesn’t want anyone to know the officials’ grades – until they decide that they have to protect their membership.

As an amateur official, my sympathies almost always lie with the men in the stripes; however this time, both sides need to cool it.
 

Fatbot

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They used to let refs talk to the media. No video, but here's a transcript of the last one: http://snltranscripts.jt.org/89/89gpitman.phtml
Rock Clark: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another edition of "The Referee Pitman Show". As always, we'll be taking questions and talking football with NFL referee Bill Pitman. Ref, welcome.

Referee Pitman: Thanks, Rock.

Rock Clark: Okay, Ref, last week you called the Bills-Oilers game in Houston. Let's take a look at some highlights.

[ clips are shown of the Ref's erronous calls ]

Okay, there you are making the call. There's an offsides.. there's a defensive holding.. and there's a too-many-men-on-the-field.

[ return to Ref and Rock in the studio ]

Okay. As you can see, it was an exciting game, and there were some controversial calls. I understand, Ref, that you were hit by a bottle after the game?

Referee Pitman: Well.. yes, I was hit, Rock. It was, uh.. it was actually a jar.. I believe, sort of a pickle jar. Well, inside the jar was a fetus. It was a pig fetus, not a human fetus like the one in Philadelphia.. and fortunately it didn't shatter, like in Philadelphia.

Rock Clark: Well, you're a lucky man, Ref. Okay. Well, I know our fans and callers have plenty of questions for you, so let's get started. [ audience member raises hand ] Yes, sir, you have a question for the Ref?

Audience Member #1: Uh, yeah. It's great to be here, Ref. Um.. listen, I just wanted to know, um.. are you totally blind, or just legally blind.. uh.. so that, you know, you can make out shapes and degrees of light, you know, that kind of thing?

Referee Pitman: Well, actually.. I have 20/20 vision. I have mentioned this on the show before. I'm not blind, never have been. Thanks for your question.

Audience Member #1: Okay, thank you.

Rock Clark: Okay, next?

Audience Member #2: Uh, yes, I wanted to ask you about last Sunday's game.

Referee Pitman: Yes. Go ahead.

Audience Member #2: Yeah, I was just wondering, were you watching a different game while you were officiating? Like, on a little mini-TV, or something like that?

Referee Pitman: No, I wasn't. I was concentrating on the game I was officiating.

Audience Member #2: Oh, wow! You know, because it seemed like your calls were related to a game being played somewhere far away.

Rock Clark: That is interesting. Okay, who's next? [ audience member raises hand ] Yes?

Audience Member #3: Yeah, uh, hi, great show. I saw the last game, and I just want to know, do you find it helpful to keep your head up your rear end? I mean, why during the game? It seems that during the game you want to have your head, you know, out and in the open air so you can see the plays. I mean, is it comfortable, or is it for the warmth, or what?

Rock Clark: How about it, Ref? Your head inside your rear end?

Referee Pitman: [ thinking ] No. No, nope, never done that. I wouldn't even know how to go about it, it's an interesting position, but, uh.. nope.

Rock Clark: Okay, apparently not. But good question. Okay, Ref, let's look at one of the more controversial plays from Sunday.

[ clips are shown of more of Ref's erronous calls ]

Here's the pass to Jeffries, he clearly fumbles to the other team, but the ball is rolled dead and the Oilers keep it. It seems as though you were retarded on that play, Ref.

[ return to Ref and Rock in the studio ]

Referee Pitman: Nnnnnooo.. I'm not retarded, Rock.

Rock Clark: Is there any history in your family of blackouts or hallucinations, or fits of dementia?

Referee Pitman: No. I'm fairly certain there isn't.. but I could research for you and get back to you.

Rock Clark: Good. Okay. Alright, let's go back to our audience. [ audience member stands ]

Audience Member #4: Uh, yeah, got a question about the Ref's brain.

Rock Clark: Yeah?

Audience Member #4: I was just curious - what's in your head, you know, since there's no brain? I mean, is it empty, or is it filled with, say, human excrement?

Rock Clark: I think I can handle that one, Ref. The Ref does have a brain, otherwise he wouldn't be able to conduct this interview right here. That's how I know. I mean, it's basic high school biology. So the excrement question is irrelevent.

Audience Member #4: Thank you!

Rock Clark: Okay, let's take some calls. Hello?

Caller #1: Hi, Ref? Um, when you're caught and banned from pro football, what do you plan to do for a living?

Referee Pitman: Well, I don't know what I'd be caught for, but when I retire I plan to spend more time with my children.

Caller #1: Oh. And, um, will you teach them deception and chiconery?

Referee Pitman: Mmmmmm.. nope. Nope, I won't.

Rock Clark: Okay. Another caller. Next question for the Ref.

Caller #2: Uh.. I'm an optometrist..

Rock Clark: Sorry! We covered that topic earlier! Okay, let's go back to our audience. [ audience member stands ] Yes, sir.

Audience Member #5: Hi. Great show, Ref. My boy and I were wondering what it's like for you to have no soul. And, also, what do you use to fill up your body where the soul would be? Now, is that human excrement, or dog excrement?

Referee Pitman: [ chuckles ] I wish I had a dime for every time I was asked that one!

Rock Clark: Okay! Do we have time for one mroe question? Okay, one more question. [ earlier audience member stands again ] You have something else, sir?

Audience Member #3: Yeah, I just wanted to invite Referee Pitman to have sex with himself. Because that's something, you know, that, as far as I'm concerned, he can go and do.

Rock Clark: Good to know. We're out of time. Ref, this Sunday you're doing the Giants-Eagles game?

Referee Pitman: That's right, Rock.

Rock Clark: Good. And will there be any real refs at this game, in attendance?

Referee Pitman: Yes. Myself, and two others.

Rock Clark: Hard to believe. Okay. 'Til next week, this is Rock Clark saying, "Referee Pitman sucks!" Good night.
 

thirteen28

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So, where do transparency and job evaluation meet and where should the NFL and the officials draw the curtain to the outside world? The NFLRA has always been very protective of their members when it comes to making grades public. This includes the ranking of officials for playoff games as well as grades for an individual call. I don’t blame them for wanting to keep grades under wraps. Think of it. How would you like your annual job evaluation to be posted on your company’s website for all to see? This can happen to NFL officials on any given week. On the flip side, the fans, whose dollars (and eyeballs fixed on the TV every Sunday), keep the NFL afloat want to know what the NFL is doing to make sure their team is being given a fair chance each weekend. Today’s fan (and journalist) would not stand for the silence that came from McNally or Seeman in years past.

Gawd, what a bunch of whiny little babies. Every player that steps on the field more or less has his job scrutinized down to the most minute detail. Ditto for coaches. And yet these guys, whose calls can impact of the careers of the affected players and coaches want their grades to be hidden? Cry me a river.
 

ozarkram

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And what exactly is wrong with a good old fashion conspiracy theory?
 

Stranger

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Open the refs up to the media after the game. Let them explain themselves. Pretty simple.
Put them out of control of the NFL. Have an independent and audited 3rd party select, hire, and manage the referees.
 

Alan

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I'd say the best way to prevent new conspiracy theories is to hold of on getting that lobotomy. :LOL:

Just my opinion of course.
 

fancents86

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Can you imagine having to answer the "what do you do for a living" question if you were a ref? I bet they would get their ass kicked every time they answered honestly.
 

Ken

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Have to make some if not all penalties reviewable, that would be a start.

I think every play, scoring or not, should be reviewable. Penalties called from the field would be reviewable. And blatant obvious missed penalties would be called down from the replay officials to the on-field officials for immediate enforcement. I don't understand the need for so many on field officials when so many make bad calls. With the number of cameras and angles televising the game, they should minimize the number of calls they make from the field, where your vision is so easily obstructed, and depend primarily on replay officials. I don't see a need for more than 2 or 3 on-field officials to break up fights and clear piles. I'm close to quitting the NFL if they don't get their officiating mess fixed. I've got tickets to 2 more Rams games this year. This might be the last year for me.

Use replay as the primary rule enforcement tool and not on field eyeballs. If this doesn't fix nearly all the bad calls then you know the NFL is orchestrating the outcomes. If the NFL doesn't make it a priority to ensure their games are being fairly officiating then I'm done with the NFL after this year until they fix it.
 

CoachO

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How about make them full time employees?

You have a multi-billion dollar corporation that essentially uses part time employees. If this is the top of all the American Football leagues, then why do you not have professional referees? Pay the men. You already pay players upwards of 10-20 million a year to have multiple months off every year.
This has been discussed forever on here, and this sport just doesn't lend itself to that being practical. For arguments sake, lets assume they are full time employees. They work ONE GAME A WEEK. What would you propose they do in the 5 other days (6th being the travel day to the game site)? These guys already know the rules inside and out. They are already scrutinized more than anyone in here can really appreciate. Every single play, every one of the 8 man crew is reviewed and graded, regardless of whether or not they were involved in the play directly. They are fined, they are disciplined. And they are not retained if they don't grade out well enough year to year.

They receive weekly video bulletins of any and all questionable calls/plays that occur throughout the league, not just the ones they are involved in. They are the best of the best when it comes to football officiating. Making them full time employees, will not change the results on the field one bit. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the financial aspect. They are compensated quite fairly for the job.

IMO, the issue isn't with the officials themselves. It's how they are being asked to officiate the sport. The NFL is so concerned about lawsuits and "safety issues" they are changing the game before our eyes. The officials don't make the rules, but they are the ones being asked to interpret and enforce them. And they are being instructed to error on the side of caution. So you see the number of penalties being called increase across the board. Not just by crew. The points of emphasis calls for much more attention being paid to things that in the past were consistently overlooked. You see holding penalties going down, and all the "safety" fouls increasing. Again, this is a league issue, not an officiating issue.

Its a matter of realistic expectations. No other sport plays ONE GAME A WEEK. Not hockey, not baseball, not basketball. Again, I ask the question, what would making them "full time" accomplish?
 

Alan

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On the other hand, cover ups are a completely different story. You needn't be paranoid to know they happen all the time. Unfortunately, few of us are immune to that failing.
 

thirteen28

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IMO, the issue isn't with the officials themselves. It's how they are being asked to officiate the sport. The NFL is so concerned about lawsuits and "safety issues" they are changing the game before our eyes. The officials don't make the rules, but they are the ones being asked to interpret and enforce them. And they are being instructed to error on the side of caution. So you see the number of penalties being called increase across the board. Not just by crew. The points of emphasis calls for much more attention being paid to things that in the past were consistently overlooked. You see holding penalties going down, and all the "safety" fouls increasing. Again, this is a league issue, not an officiating issue.

This, I think is a huge problem, although it is not the only problem. But it's certainly significant and ties into some themes I've been hammering on about with people (players and fans alike) being unable to accept the inherent risks/occupational hazards that go with playing this sport.

However, it doesn't touch the issue of crappy OPI calls like the one against Cook and which have nothing to do with player safety.
 

ChrisW

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This has been discussed forever on here, and this sport just doesn't lend itself to that being practical. For arguments sake, lets assume they are full time employees. They work ONE GAME A WEEK. What would you propose they do in the 5 other days (6th being the travel day to the game site)? These guys already know the rules inside and out. They are already scrutinized more than anyone in here can really appreciate. Every single play, every one of the 8 man crew is reviewed and graded, regardless of whether or not they were involved in the play directly. They are fined, they are disciplined. And they are not retained if they don't grade out well enough year to year.

They receive weekly video bulletins of any and all questionable calls/plays that occur throughout the league, not just the ones they are involved in. They are the best of the best when it comes to football officiating. Making them full time employees, will not change the results on the field one bit. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the financial aspect. They are compensated quite fairly for the job.

IMO, the issue isn't with the officials themselves. It's how they are being asked to officiate the sport. The NFL is so concerned about lawsuits and "safety issues" they are changing the game before our eyes. The officials don't make the rules, but they are the ones being asked to interpret and enforce them. And they are being instructed to error on the side of caution. So you see the number of penalties being called increase across the board. Not just by crew. The points of emphasis calls for much more attention being paid to things that in the past were consistently overlooked. You see holding penalties going down, and all the "safety" fouls increasing. Again, this is a league issue, not an officiating issue.

Its a matter of realistic expectations. No other sport plays ONE GAME A WEEK. Not hockey, not baseball, not basketball. Again, I ask the question, what would making them "full time" accomplish?

Being a referee is more of a hobby for them, and according to @Selassie I it's one that pays really well.

Having their full-time job, and then being a referee on the side kind of makes it an afterthought, doesn't it?
 

Ram Quixote

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Put them out of control of the NFL. Have an independent and audited 3rd party select, hire, and manage the referees.
This.

There is no greater conflict of interest in the history of sports than the relationship between game officials and the league that operates them. That includes the NBA and the NFL
 

Ramathon

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....
IMO, the issue isn't with the officials themselves. It's how they are being asked to officiate the sport. The NFL is so concerned about lawsuits and "safety issues" they are changing the game before our eyes. The officials don't make the rules, but they are the ones being asked to interpret and enforce them. And they are being instructed to error on the side of caution. So you see the number of penalties being called increase across the board. ....

There it is....in a nutshell.
 

CoachO

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Being a referee is more of a hobby for them, and according to @Selassie I it's one that pays really well.

Having their full-time job, and then being a referee on the side kind of makes it an afterthought, doesn't it?
I can assure you, this is far from a "hobby" for any of them. I have been a NCAA Division I baseball umpire for 25 years, and I have been able to know quite a few officials who have worked in the NFL. I am a close friend of someone who currently serves as a replay official for the NFL. They are fully invested in this career. And it is not a seasonal thing either. They attend rules clinics, mechanics clinics. regional meetings throughout the year. There aren't many "2nd jobs" that require the time these guys invest already. And yet they "work" one game a week.

While it may not be their "full time" job, to think they treat it as an "afterthought" just is not accurate. And I ask the question again. What will making them full-time employees do, to make them better at what they are asked to do on Sundays? What can they possibly do, in those other days that they aren't doing now in terms of preparation? It just isn't feasible in this sport.

In terms of compensation, football at every level, be it High School College and the NFL, is the best paying sport in the country when it comes to what theses guys are paid. So making them full time, is not going to have any impact of them financially to the point of giving up their "real job" in most cases.
 
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CoachO

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This, I think is a huge problem, although it is not the only problem. But it's certainly significant and ties into some themes I've been hammering on about with people (players and fans alike) being unable to accept the inherent risks/occupational hazards that go with playing this sport.

However, it doesn't touch the issue of crappy OPI calls like the one against Cook and which have nothing to do with player safety.

I think it has everything to do with that type of call. The league has mandated a point of emphasis on Pass Interference and Illegal Contact. They have instructed the officials to look specifically at these type of plays. And with increased attention, human nature is that you will tend to see things that aren't necessarily as they are. Some crews are better at letting the teams play, but there are those who seem to take they approach that if its in question, throw the flag. There in lies the biggest problem for me. There is no consistency from week to week and from one crew to the next.
 

Stranger

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I can assure you, this is far from a "hobby" for any of them. I have been a NCAA Division I baseball umpire for 25 years, and I have been able to know quite a few officials who have worked in the NFL. I am a close friend of someone who currently serves as a replay official for the NFL. They are fully invested in this career. And it is not a seasonal thing either. They attend rules clinics, mechanics clinics. regional meetings throughout the year. There aren't many "2nd jobs" that require the time these guys invest already. And yet they "work" one game a week.

While it may not be their "full time" job, to think they treat it as an "afterthought" just is not accurate. And I ask the question again. What will making them full-time employees do, to make them better at what they are asked to do on Sundays. What can they possibly do, in those other days that they aren't doing now in terms of preparation? It just isn't feasible in this sport.

In terms of compensation, football at every level, be it High School College and the NFL, is the best paying sport in the country when it comes to what theses guys are paid. So making them full time, is not going to have any impact of them financially to the point of giving up their "real job" in most cases.
Again, I'd like to see refs under the employment, part time or otherwise, of an independent 3rd party outside the reach of the NFL. This would go a long way to altering the perception of impropriety.
 

CoachO

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Again, I'd like to see refs under the employment, part time or otherwise, of an independent 3rd party outside the reach of the NFL. This would go a long way to altering the perception of impropriety.
they have their union, and it serves as the same purpose. It protects the members from any "improper" treatment by the league. But at the end of the day, these guys are paid to enforce the rules that are written by the NFL. Regardless of whom they are "employed" by, the job remains the same. Officiate the game as the league mandates it to be Officiated.

A long as the threat of lawsuits continue to hang over the head of the league, they will continue to make changes to the game. And there is nothing that will change the perception.