A viral clip from Sunday’s Cardinals loss to the Giants has turned into an argument about officiating conduct. Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, a flag, and line judge Jeff Seeman are at the center of it. The details matter here, because the clip and the eyewitness account do not fully agree.
What Happened
In the fourth quarter, with under five minutes left in a game the Giants won 36-24, McBride disputed a pass interference call with Seeman. Video captured Seeman appearing to shout profanity at him twice. McBride pointed at the camera and laughed when he realized it was recording.
NFLPA executive director JC Tretter posted the footage and called the behavior “unacceptable,” adding that players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. That is his statement, and it is a fair marker of where the players’ union stands.
What the CBS Reporter Said
CBS sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala was close to the exchange and gave her account. “He was heated for sure, but I never heard a curse from him,” she said. “The harshest he got was, ‘You’re ruining the game.'”
She also said McBride opened the conversation by saying “please” while disputing the flag. That makes this a case where a lip-read clip and a person standing nearby tell slightly different stories. I would give real weight to the person who was there, but one account does not erase what the video appeared to show.
What Has Not Been Announced
No fine and no discipline has been announced for Seeman. An NFL spokesperson confirmed the league opened a review Sunday night, according to reports. No timeline for it has been given, and no outcome is public.
Nothing has been reported suggesting McBride did anything wrong beyond questioning a call. Players do that on every snap, and the account from Kinkhabwala describes a polite start to the conversation.
One note on terminology: Seeman is a line judge, not the referee. Some headlines blurred that, and it is worth getting right.
Where This Goes
The league has history here. One report pointed to a 2012 case in which referee Tony Corrente was fined a game check for profanity during a Colts-Dolphins game. That precedent suggests the NFL can and does act when an official crosses the line, but it says nothing about what will happen in this case.
My view is simple. If the review finds Seeman did swear at a player, the league should say so and say what it did about it. If it finds he did not, it should say that too and clear his name. Silence helps nobody, least of all the officials.
For now, treat the cursing as unconfirmed and the discipline as nonexistent. Both could change once the NFL speaks.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.