NFL is "insistent upon" improved performance from officials
The league's tune has changed quickly on the quality of officiating.
Less than two months ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell boasted about game officials. The league is now ready to roast them. " I’m amazed at how good our officials are ," Goodell said during his Super Bowl-week press conference.
On Tuesday, NFL executive V. P. Jeff Miller sang a different tune when discussing the ongoing labor battle with the NFL Referees Association.
"This is an opportunity for us to improve the state of our officiating," Miller told reporters at the NFL's annual meeting. "There needs to be accountability measures, there needs to be performance measures, and that’s what our negotiating posture has been. The dead period that keeps us from talking to officials from the end of the season until May 15, the probationary period that doesn’t permit us enough time to work with officials to help them improve performance — or remove them if necessary — or the ability to get the best-performing officials on the field as the playoffs continue.
"Again, the owners were consistent in saying, we’re more than happy to pay for performance. . .