The NFL referees can’t seem to get out of their own way when it comes to the conspiracy theories involving the Kansas City Chiefs.
On February 4, exactly five days before the Super Bowl 59 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL Referees Association released an official statement blasting these conspiracy theories as “insulting and preposterous.” NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero shared the full statement on X.
“The NFL Referees Association, the union representing all NFL officials, appreciates the NFL Commissioner’s comments yesterday about our members’ unwavering dedication to fairness and maintaining the integrity of the game,” the press release began before quoting NFLRA executive director Scott Green.
“Commissioner [Roger] Goodell’s comments that it is ‘ridiculous’ to presume that NFL Officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call one very play is spot on,” Green voiced within the statement. “Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.”
The press release went on to highlight the fact that NFL officials are “graded every week” on “every single play of each game.” The best of the best in terms of grades are then awarded the Super Bowl, meaning this weekend’s crew has earned this assignment — just like the Chiefs and Eagles.
“There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,” Green continued later. “But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL Officials, both on the field and in the replay booth are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly.”
NFL Fans & Chiefs Critics Rip Referee Statement: ‘The Fact They Even Needed to Address This Speaks Volumes’
As Green noted, Goodell addressed the idea of rigged football games on February 3, and the commissioner actually did a pretty good job of doing it in a way that didn’t further the situation. The NFL and the Referees Association probably should have left it at that and turned their attention to the Super Bowl.
Instead, they went and poured gasoline on the fire by releasing this statement.
“The fact they even needed to address this speaks volumes,” Denver Broncos reporter Zack Kelberman weighed in.
“It’s hilarious that they actually released this statement,” a similar fan response read.
“‘Don’t believe your eyes, just trust me,’” a third comment joked sarcastically. While a fourth user suggested: “Just hold a higher standard, have full time refs, make accountability more transparent!”
Finally, one fan replied: “What’s insulting is how poorly officials do their job. That allows for conspiracy theories.”
There were thousands of other comments and quoted posts of Pelissero’s report as well, and the large majority of them were negative. Clearly, this attempt to reason with fans backfired completely — and that’s not great news for the Chiefs.
If they win on Sunday, some will always claim their three-peat deserves an asterisk, and if they lose, they come just short of a historic accomplishment. Obviously, the Chiefs must ignore the noise and focus on securing a victory, but it doesn’t make things any easier when the referees continue to create a lose-lose situation for KC.
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