The NFL has a product problem, and it far exceeds the seriousness of the contradictory notion of players enacting themselves as ruthless, self-sacrificing gladiators one moment and civilly-obedient citizens to the norms of traditional society the next.
It goes beyond the NFL playing upon the zest of humanity for a violent form of entertainment, which links the border of savagery and uniformity.
Beyond these harsh realities, the fissures in the NFL product lie within a lack of transparency, punitive precedent, skill development, leadership and overall adequacy.
In no other area of the game is the ineptitude of the NFL product more vexing or more widely recognized by the general fan base than in the department of officiating. It’s commonplace for officiating errors and inconsistency to reduce fans into a soliloquy of obscenities with their utmost aversion for the sport on full display.
Each and every week of NFL action provokes viewers to question the understanding officials possess on rule interpretation. Judgement calls, such as pass interference, defenseless receiver and roughing the passer penalties, wax and wane each week in the eyes of officials, as they struggle to comprehend what forms and excessiveness of contact merit a flag. Players, meanwhile, although in the enviable position of not being forced to make a call or no call, are often left to disseminate helplessly on their own as to what will and will not constitute a penalty in these areas.
For example, in the Bengals, Steelers Wild Card playoff game Jan. 9, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on Bengals running back Giovanni Bernard when he began to turn up field after catching a pass. Shazier dislodged the ball, forcing a fumble which the Steelers recovered, but Bengals fans immediately thought the hit deserved a penalty. Moments later on the telecast, former NFL official and current CBS rules analyst Mike Carey declared the hit legal, saying Bernard had become a runner. However, later on ESPN’s NFL Primetime another rules analyst belied Carey’s statement, saying the hit should’ve been a penalty for leading with the helmet and helmet-to-helmet contact. Such contradictory statements and rule interpretations have become commonplace for NFL officiating “experts.”
However, the mockery that is NFL officiating isn’t on the referees themselves; it’s on commissioner Roger Goodell (surprise!) and the NFL’s competition committee. At the crux of the NFL’s officiating epidemic is the fact that NFL referees aren’t full-time employees, something that exists in stark contrast to every other American sports league.
NFL officials are paid handsomely for their services, (the average salary of NFL officials for the 2013-14 season was $173,000) certainly enough to justify them being full-time employees. And if officials demand higher wages for their increased hours, Lord knows the NFL has the revenue to appropriately compensate them.
With an increased work week, NFL officials would be required to devote more time to their craft in the form of studying game film, reviewing calls, devising and releasing statements regarding calls, developing a more conclusive process of making subjective calls and possibly participating in officiating simulations provided by the league (psssh, what am I saying, there is no chance in hell the NFL would invest in improving its product if it takes a bite out of revenue).
The apoplexy caused by NFL officiating blunders, however, is only fully appreciated by fans who indulge in viewing multiple games each week, but the NFL’s cloddishness on player discipline has been on full display within the public sphere, soliciting outrage in numerous cases.
In terms of player discipline and suspensions, the NFL has reneged on defined policy, while also failing to institute any precedential guidelines to consult appropriate punishment for each violation.
As a result of its inadequacy, the NFL has operated as a reactionary as opposed to proactive conglomerate. Never was this more apparent than with the Ray Rice incident, in which the NFL was indicted by any entity possessing a trace of human civility for its repulsive conduct concerning the situation.
However, just a couple weeks ago, the NFL showcased its lack of growth in the area of player discipline, albeit on a much lesser scale, when it suspended Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict three games after an egregious hit on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Burfict’s actions certainly warranted a suspension, but despite a lengthy list of past incidents concerning illegal hits, the league had never previously suspended Burfict.
In turn, the NFL slovenly issued another punishment on the grounds of its own self-enacted, myopic policy, which is seemingly constructed on gauging the criticism and animosity of the public and then reacting accordingly.
Of course, when it comes to the NFL’s incompetent means of fortifying and justifying player discipline, nothing is fresher in the minds of the NFL audience than the league’s handling of Deflategate and revoked suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. I’ll spare a lengthy monologue on the topic, but just be aware the NFL operates under the assumption that for it to indict a person, the general laws of science as well as established court guidelines of presenting hard evidence don’t apply.
However, it wasn’t injustices such as player discipline, officiating incompetence or flailing leadership that occupied the minds of NFL fans this past weekend. It was, instead, cordial or displeasing feelings stemming from the Denver Broncos’ pass rush eviscerating Brady or Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton giddily flipping over the goaline in his team’s pummeling of the Arizona Cardinals.
And with the Super Bowl matchup between the Broncos and Panthers less than two weeks away, and millions of Americans anticipating one of the nation’s grandest single-event spectacles, the NFL continues to exploit the allegiance of its ardent fan base, proving even a negligent league producing a farcical product can prey on the human appeal of violence combined with excitement to transform sport into a multi-billion-dollar oligarchic industry.
Bradley Heltzel can be contacted at [email protected].