The NFL didn't need another entity upset at it, but the NFL Referees Association publicly criticized the league for an inconsistent message to its on-field officials.
Citing two high-profile calls already this season, the NFLRA released a statement said that said penalties the league has said were wrong have actually been privately graded as correct by the league.
The first call was Washington defensive lineman Chris Baker's cheap shot on Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles in Week 3, which drew a 15-yard penalty and ejection. NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent strangely said Baker did nothing wrong and wouldn't be fined, even though he clearly broke the NFL rule on blindsiding a player away from the play.
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The NFL was quick to say a 15-yard penalty on Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah, who slid to the ground after a touchdown and went into Muslim prayer, was incorrectly called. The league didn't even wait 12 hours after the call was made on Tuesday night to say it was wrong.
The NFLRA said that the league is saying one thing and doing another.
“In the last two weeks, two penalties that were called in games that drew national attention were publicly announced to be in error by the League office, however the Officiating Department later graded the calls as correct. This has caused confusion for NFL officials as to what the League does and doesn’t want called,” the Referees Association said in a statement, via Pro Football Talk.
The NFLRA statement said Abdullah was called for a penalty for sliding on his knees in the end zone, not for anything having to do with his prayer. Christian players are not penalized for praying after touchdowns, and the NFL said Tuesday that players shouldn't be flagged for going to the ground for religious expression. The league was pretty clear about why it was saying that penalty shouldn't have been called. It would seem like the NFL could have diffused the situation by immediately saying that Abdullah was penalized for his slide on his knees, but its explanation brought a lot more heat on the official who made the call.
“The player was flagged, correctly, for the slide on his knees in the end zone, not for going to the ground in a prayerful gesture,” NFLRA president Scott Green said in the statement, according to Pro Football Talk. “On field officials are aware of the prayer provision and respect the right of players of all faiths to express themselves.”
It clearly seems that the NFL is unorganized in how it is communicating these issues. With officials being ripped for calls the NFL's officiating department says are correct, it's not a surprise the union spoke out.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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