Mark Zinno: NFL Referees, You Are What You Wear
It's week 2 of the NFL pre-season and the NFL Referees are locked out. Replacement refs are doing the games again this week. Fans should be prepared that they will be there next week ... and the following week ... and week 1 of the regular season. Unless! Unless they acquiesce and give in to "the beast." I get that they have to protect their interests. I get they have to look out for themselves and referees in the future. But what they don't understand is that the NFL won't give in. They don't have to. They hold all the cards. The refs are on the league's turf and they have to play by the league's rules. Can you really see the NFL backing down and giving MORE money to the referees? I could also see what my house would look like after hitting Powerball, but it's not gonna happen. Neither is the NFL catering to the NFL Referees Association. Replacement referees won't change the quality of play on the field and hell, the NFL can easily look at it like this: "The officiating wasn't that great to begin with and we still are the biggest game in town, so who really cares?" The answer is no one. The referees only options are these: 1) take a hard line stance and pray the NFL caves, while not working and not making any money regardless, or 2) cave in to the NFL demands and go make some money in your SECOND job! It's pretty simple for where I stand. In the jungle of professional sports, the NFL is the lion and the referees are, well, the zebra.
Zinno
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