The NFL is currently investigating an incident where a referee seemed to use profanity directed at tight end Trey McBride during a game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants on Sunday.
A league spokesperson confirmed, “We are looking into the matter.” It’s not surprising they would take this step, especially since the incident was caught on camera and later reported by JC Tretter, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, on social media.
Line judge Jeff Seeman, whose father previously supervised NFL officials, was filmed saying something to McBride along the Cardinals’ sideline that appeared to include an expletive. Although this isn’t directly from a lip-reading effort, it certainly seemed like Seeman said, “(Bleep) you.”
The word he used, if I may clarify, rhymes with duck—or, you know, luck—or even truck. Seeman actually repeated the phrase twice.
Tretter expressed his discontent via social media, stating, “This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable. Players are held accountable in similar situations, and we expect the NFL to uphold the same standards for officials.”
It’s worth mentioning that most referees typically don’t resort to expletive-laden remarks without some provocation, right? There were some reports suggesting McBride may have voiced his disagreement with one of the calls made earlier, but the specifics of his comments remain unclear.
Despite whatever tension may have happened, officials usually respond to heated exchanges with a penalty flag. Hurling insults, well, that’s not the typical way to handle these situations.
