In sports fandom, we have at one point felt that the referees were slighting our team. There have been chants at games against referees, and now, on social media, officiating has become a trending topic during games.
Is there a decline in officiating? Have these referees, deputized with a whistle and striped shirt, gone too far from the rules they uphold?
Maybe.
In the NBA, a marquee matchup is similar to heavyweight title fights of decades ago—Chris Paul versus Scott Foster. Paul is 2-19 in playoff games officiated by Foster’s crew.
In the 2022 playoffs, Scott Foster gave Chris Paul a technical for saying his name on the court to another referee [Courtney Kirkland]. This precedent was already set: if a player says the name of anyone of the officiating crew, they will receive a tech or be ejected. Last month, Foster and Paul faced off again. Foster was the one to bring up Paul’s son as they exchanged words on the court. When Paul was being escorted back to the locker room, he yelled, “YOU’RE A B—H” at Foster and then walked off saying, “He’s talking bout my son.”
The NFL has had a litany of officiating issues this season.
Roughing the passer in the NFL would be public enemy number one if officiating issues were investigated. The language of the rule prohibits hitting a passer who is in a defenseless position, knowingly hitting someone who doesn’t have the ball, hitting a passer in the knees or lower, using a helmet to hit a passer, making forcible contact with the passers helmet or facemask with arms, torso, or one’s helmet. A defender can not drive a passer into the ground. In real-time, these plays are too close to tell, or there is circumstantial contact that imitates what referees see as unnecessary roughness.
Quarterbacks through the league have received benefits from these calls after an edge rusher misses the quarterback’s arm and hits their helmet or attempts a sack after being blocked into the ground by grabbing a leg. However, the more significant issue is ambiguity in how this penalty is called. Officials are negating great defensive plays. Sacks are called back, such as Buccaneers linebacker Devin White, who wrapped up Jaguars Quarterback C.J. Beathard and tossed him to the ground in their Week 16 matchup. The game broadcast stated they did not see the need for this call, even if the officials wanted to protect quarterbacks.
Protecting quarterbacks is an argument often made by Commissioner Roger Goodell, yet not all quarterbacks are protected the same.
Patrick Mahomes draws flags while scrambling and receiving contact near the sideline and while inbounds. In these plays, the quarterback is seen as a ball carrier who has not given themselves up. However, Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts, who are running a similar scramble, have received contact out of bounds that does not get called.
The problem in “protecting quarterbacks” is the inconsistency in which protection is given.
Something I have never seen before happened on Christmas Day. Lamar Jackson is scrambling in the Ravens’ endzone to avoid pressure, and a referee trips in front of him, limiting Jackson’s path. Jackson throws the ball away, and the out-of-place referee throws a flag for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety.
Referees have shifted from overseeing games to becoming active members of the game. Referees have become judge, jury, and executioner in the world of sports, and the commissioners of their respective leagues sit back as if nothing is wrong.
Referees have the power to sway the outcome of a game off of one call, and in the world where sports betting is legal, that is too much more. But that’s another issue…
