Officially Saying

By David Wayne Nystrom

Officiating is likely one of the most widely discussed topics in all of sports. And for this reason I typically have steered my articles away from those in stripes out of respect for what they try to do. However after watching the first bit of football season, I've decided my reservations on this issue need to be tossed.

In the past years, there's always been tough calls for teams and officials. Whether it's the right call, in a case like the "Tuck Rule" (Patriots v Raiders), or a terribly blown call on the direction of a thrown football in Denver. The job comes with a LOT of pressure.

It's not just football though! How many of you remember Detroit Tiger's ace, Justin Verlander, and a certain ruling that cost him a perfect game in Cleveland? Or perhaps you're one of the many fans who's tired of seeing somebody driving to the rim and taking five steps and there being no traveling call. The point is that every sport has officiating that either is doing their job right and they go unnoticed for the most part, or they're every losing fan's favorite victim for the one blown call that cost them the game.

My issue in this article isn't so much with the big rulings that decide games, but the little ones that add up over a game, season, decade, whatever. A five-yard false start penalty is pretty obvious, and 99% of the time is getting called, but has anybody else noticed that both ends of the offensive line are getting up faster than before? It's so close sometimes, I'm leaping off the couch throwing my imaginary flag, ON MY OWN TEAMS! Of course then there's the holding penalties. The saying at my household is, "there's holding every play," and it's oh so true.

Next up: personal fouls. In the recent Michigan-Michigan State game, Spartan defensive end William Gholston was flagged twice for dead ball unnecessary roughness. The first came on a Denard Robinson run. Robinson was down and Gholston came in and ripped Robinson's facemask around his head. The second one, however was the one that has Gholston sidelined for one week. A bit of aggressive play on both sides, led to Gholston punching offensive lineman Taylor Lewan. Personally, I would have thrown Gholston out of the game right then and there, but instead the coaches just benched him. I don't know if that was after a conference with the officials to let it go there or what, but my issue is with the action of the player and the reaction of the officials.

How is punching another player any better than spitting in another players face? We all remember the highlight a couple years ago from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game where a player was ejected for spitting in another players face, and there was another one last season as well (though the teams involved have slipped my mind). Players were getting ejected for this action, but not for punches?

Don't think I'm picking on Sparty, it happens all over football. Players throwing punches, kicking the ball out of down player's hands, etcetera. It almost seems like the officials are... letting it go? No no, that can't be it because I just saw the same thing called on the other channel...

So. What's this boil down to?

Consistency. Consistency and standards. If officials are letting certain things go in one game, but on the other channel it's getting called, there's s bigger problem than we thought.

It's about standards. Standards in sports officiating have slipped. Referees have let the standard for penalties slip down and the consistency has gone with it. Part of the problem that has caused this is the officials trying to stay out of the game. I respect the notion because I'm all for letting the players play, but there has to be a point where "just letting them play" pushes the rules too far.

Is it a reliance on instant replay? Can't say that for baseball, they don't have it. Is it expectations set by fans? Perhaps, but most of these plays in question aren't reviewable to begin with.

I'm not going to pose an answer like I normally would, because I don't have the answer. I'm tired of seeing penalties getting so picky, but I'm also tired of seeing players getting away with stuff that shouldn't even be close.

I'm honestly stumped as to what needs to be done.