NFL players have to show sportsmanship lest they draw flags and/or fines and now officiating crews are on notice that they, too, must display appropriate behavior in the heat of the moment.
The NFL flagged its officials Monday, suspending line judge Jeff Seeman and referee Adrian Hill for their actions during a wild Week 4 marked by profane flare-ups that included Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy cursing at each other and Dre Greenlaw displaying the kind of fiery spirit toward Sean Payton that the Broncos head coach wished had shown up last season in Denver.
Seeman was banned two games for swearing at Trey McBride after Arizona’s star tight end argued for a pass interference call when he was hit by a defender before the ball arrived. Hill received a one-game suspension for unprofessional conduct for yelling at Eric Wilson and pointing for him to get away after the Minnesota Vikings linebacker tried to help him to his feet after a collision knocked him over.
But these stood out, especially because they were caught on camera and quickly raced across social media, not the kind of viral moments the NFL prefers. McBride knew Seeman’s vulgarity was being broadcast — he pointed toward the camera that caught the line judge’s repeated obscenities.
“Obviously, you hate to see it, for obvious reasons,” Arizona coach Mike LaFleur said. “I do want to give the man a little bit of grace, too. I know Jeff. He’s a good man. It’s unfortunate it happened. It can’t happen, obviously, and I’ll leave it at that.”
The incident drew the ire of union leader JC Tretter, a retired offensive lineman who played eight seasons in the NFL: “This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter, the NFL Players Association’s executive director, posted on social media along with a video clip of the incident. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell lamented the official’s out-of-bounds reaction in the Miami-Minnesota game where Wilson was only trying to help Hill to his feet after he got knocked into the referee, who fell down.
“I just think it’s one of those situations in kind of a high-energy moment there,” O’Connell said. “I think stuff like that can happen sometimes, but I don’t have any major concerns, and I think Adrian’s a really good official and does a really good job. I think that was just kind of fast moment that happened, and we can put it behind us, hopefully.”
The league flagged its own officials to make sure that happens.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
