NFLRA: League planned lockout

Associated Press

New york

The NFL’s on-field officials say the league is paying lip service to player safety by contacting replacement officials.

They also believe the NFL planned to lock them out rather than negotiate a new contract. Members of the NFL Referees Association were locked out June 3 after talks broke down.

NFLRA President Scott Green and past president Ed Hochuli, both current referees, said Wednesday the NFL is jeopardizing the safety of the players, as well as the integrity of the game, by considering using officials they feel are unqualified. None of those officials will come from the top college division because they all are barred from accepting NFL jobs by the colleges, Green said.

“To take seven officials who have not worked Division I [college] games or not worked the last several years,” he said, “and to put them on the field has got to be pretty unsettling not only to the players and coaches, but to the fans.

“The players have plenty of things to worry about on the field, they don’t need to be worrying about the officials.”

Green said players know the current officials are consistent in their calls, but won’t have any idea “what will be called or seen and what won’t be, and that will be a product of how the game is being affected.”

Added Hochuli: “There is no game if the competitive nature of the game is not being controlled” by officials.

The NFL disagreed, saying in a statement:

“Our goal is to maintain the highest quality of officiating for our teams, players, and fans, including proper enforcement of the playing rules and efficient management of our games.

“We are confident that these game officials will enforce rules relating to player safety. Contrary to NFLRA leadership, we do not believe that players will ‘play dirty’ or intentionally break the rules.”

Dr. Thom Mayer, the NFL Players Association’s medical director, met Tuesday with the officials to discuss their situation and its potential impact on the players’ safety.

“I don’t know how to look at the type of officials they are talking about using and not raise the issue of if there will be health and safety issues,” Mayer told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We will be monitoring that closely during the preseason.”

Hochuli, perhaps the best-known NFL ref, said the 121 officials who are locked out are training on their own, including hours of video work and taking rules tests.

“When the lockout ends — and we know it will end — we’ll be ready to take the field the next day,” Hochuli said. “But just like the players, whose preseason helps get the mistakes out before the season starts, if there is no preseason (for the officials), there will be mistakes that will happen, just like with the players.”

The players were locked out for 41/2 months last year before getting a 10-year contract.

“Lockout seems to be their negotiating strategy with everyone,” Green said. “We don’t want to be locked out. We want to get back to the table and get this resolved.”