The NFL made the rare decision to drop the hammer on a pair of officials for conduct during Week 4’s slate of games and is earning a bit of praise for a change.
On Monday, the NFL suspended line judge Jeff Seeman for using an expletive directed at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Referee Adrian Hill also received a one-game ban for an apparent overreaction to being knocked to the ground by Eric Wilson of the Minnesota Vikings.
The league’s decision earned the praise of one person who has a habit of taking the league to task: ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio.
Florio praises the NFL
In an article on Tuesday, Florio applauded the NFL for holding the referees to a high standard after weeks of being lambasted over being “fine-happy” for player conduct on the field. He said that the NFL’s decision defuses the potential complaints of there being double-standards between players and officials.
“Regardless, the league took action as to both Seeman and Hill. The league had no choice. The officials are supposed to be neutral, measured, and detached. They’re the judges in the courtroom that is a football field. And judges typically don’t say “fuck you” to the lawyers or the parties who appear before them. (A judge or two may have wanted to say it to me during my former career, but never did. At least not loud enough for me to hear it.),” Florio wrote.
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“Appearances matter. How can anyone expect the players and coaches to restrict their behavior if the officials can’t, or won’t?
“Besides, the NFL has suddenly gone fine-happy over previously acceptable celebrations by players. Also, it’s constantly looking for any type of actual or perceived “taunting” indignity that could increase the on-field temperature between players. That standard should apply to officials — and it should be an even higher bar.”
He seems to be right. The fact that the referees’ association is complaining about the punishment very much feels like they’re getting a taste of their own medicine for a change.
