The NFL suspended two game officials this week. Their union says the league went too far, and it is going to fight it.
Line judge Jeff Seeman drew a two-game suspension. Referee Adrian Hill drew one game. Both came out of Week 4 and both were classified by the league as unprofessional conduct toward a player, with the discipline issued by NFL vice president of officiating Ramon George.
What Actually Happened
Seeman was caught on video appearing to curse at Cardinals tight end Trey McBride at MetLife Stadium late in the fourth quarter of Arizona’s loss to the Giants. The exchange came after officials declined to flag Giants cornerback Andru Phillips on a contested play.
Hill’s incident was different. Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson, blocked by Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II, collided with Hill and knocked him to the ground. Hill got up, yelled at Wilson and pointed at him to move.
Those two things are not the same thing, which is roughly the union’s entire argument.
The NFLRA Is Not Asking Quietly
Executive director Scott Green issued a statement that landed Tuesday via Tom Pelissero and Mike Florio. The union is not disputing that accountability applies to officials. It is disputing the size of the penalty and whether the league applies the same standard to everyone else on the field.
“Accountability matters, but that should not result in discipline that is excessive,” Green said. He added that “officials are routinely subjected to highly charged interactions and, at times, verbal abuse,” and that “discipline must be fair, consistent, and proportionate.”
The union pointed to Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel being penalized without suspension for comparable conduct as its precedent argument. The NFLRA plans to meet with the league’s officiating department and NFLPA leadership on disciplinary standards and on-field conduct.
The League Has a Consistency Problem
NFLPA president JC Tretter weighed in from the other direction: “We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”
Both things can be true. Officials should not curse at players. Players and coaches scream at officials every Sunday with a flag as the maximum consequence, and the league has spent years telling everyone that is just football.
A two-game suspension for a line judge is a serious career mark. If the NFL is going to start issuing them, it needs a published standard that applies in both directions. Right now it has a reaction to a viral video, and a union about to make that very point in a room full of lawyers.
One correction worth making, since it keeps getting mangled: only Hill is a referee. Seeman is a line judge.
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.