NFLPA head discusses referee issue:
Q: Can the Players Association do more to resolve the impasse between the NFL and its officials?
A: We have done a lot. I stay in touch with Scott Green from the Referees Association. I've met with the National Football League about the issue and made our concerns abundantly clear to them. We've been very public in saying that we believe on a scale of 1-10 the use of replacement referees in the preseason is a 12. That goes up to a 16 now that you're entering into the regular season.
Obviously the game is going to speed up, the demand on the referees increase, the physical strain on our players increases exponentially, and you're facing a situation where the league has made an affirmative decision to remove the people that we consider to be the first responders to safety on the field. It's rather obvious that the only people on the field who are not competing, who remain objective to enforce the rules, to ensure that the players remain safe, are the referees. And to make matters worse, there are really three fundamental facts that are inescapable.
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The only conclusion that I have [about the use of replacement officials] is that the league cares more about money than it does about the experience of the [regualr] referees as a vehicle to increase player safety. end quote-- DeMaurice Smith
Read more:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jim_trotter/08/28/smith/index.html#ixzz24wA8JFyz
