‘Fail Mary’ Lessons Echo as NFL Replacement Refs Could Face Social Media and Betting Backlash

Be careful what you wish for.With labor tensions simmering between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association, league owners have taken a proactive — and for some, unsettling — step this week by authorizing the hiring and training of replacement officials to take the field in the event of a strike.A nightmare looms if things go as poorly as they did the last time the officials went on strike in 2012 and replacements are needed again, especially in today’s world of social media and sports betting.Fourteen years ago, replacement officials, who governed the preseason and first three weeks of the regular season, consisted of high school or college officials from lower divisions. Some were from the Arena Football League and even the Lingerie Football League. There were numerous errors and mistakes, highlighted by the infamous “Fail Mary” play in a Monday night game featuring the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.Lance Easley, a replacement official working the game as a side judge, ruled that a final-play heave by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had been caught by Golden Tate for a touchdown — despite another replacement ref signaling a touchback, meaning he thought it was an interception by Packers safety M.D. Jennings.Seattle was awarded the touchdown and Mr. Easley became the butt of jokes from late night comics and the subject of threats from irate fans and angry gamblers. He was also scorned by media, players and coaches and even members of his own officiating crew that night.“I was completely under attack,” he told Yahoo Sports in 2015. “Nobody died. There were no laws broken. It wasn’t scandalous. There was no sex tape. I didn’t do anything wrong. It just happened to be a contentious call right when everything was spiraling out of control.”Mr. Easley later wrote a book detailing how he suffered from depression and was forced to go on doctor-ordered medical leave from his job at Bank of America. His 28-year marriage fell apart. He consulted with medical experts and counselors, took doctor-prescribed drugs and entered an acute psychiatric facility as well as making two visits to a mental health rehab center. Replacement refs became part of a Saturday Night Live sketch in which they argued over the time of death of another character.“I felt like I didn’t want to be here anymore,” Mr. Easley said, admitting to suicidal thoughts. “I never acted on it. But it was horrible to have those thoughts.”Mike Peek, an official for 42 years at the high school, junior college and Division 1 level, was also in Seattle that night. “To see the game fall apart in the end, it’s one of those things that wanted to make you go into the back of the room and cry tears,” he said. “Replacement refs, we were at the mercy of the crowd.”The controversy created by “Fail Mary” led to the end of the strike as two days later the league and the NFLRA reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. But the infamous call was the exclamation point on a series of errors.Craig Ochoa, whose experience as an official included a stint in the Lingerie League — a women’s indoor league featuring women in minimal outfits — botched the announcement after a replay challenge during a nationally televised Thursday night game. He also incorrectly announced the winner of the coin flip in the Hall of Fame Game before being corrected. Another replacement ref had to be pulled from a New Orleans Saints game against the Carolina Panthers because he was a Saints fan.Another replacement ref, Shannon Eastin, is not fully credited with being the first female to officiate an NFL game because of her temporary status; instead, her inclusion was questioned because she had participated in the World Series of Poker. Two years later, Sarah Thomas was hired as the first full-time female official.Many of the replacements viewed the experience as a service of duty to keep the league operating until the regular refs returned. Others saw it as a chance to live out a dream. “We did what we had to do,” Mr. Peek said at the time. “We kept the league afloat during the pre-season and during the first few weeks of the regular season.”The NFL said it is getting an early start on training potential replacement refs to avoid many of the mistakes that were made 14 years ago.“To expect people to jump from college to the pros and change in speed in that short of time is destined to be a challenge to succeed,” a league source told ESPN. “We’re not going to do that. There will be no panic and we have begun preparations for the expiration. We have to do it. Otherwise, it would be just gross negligence.”Mistakes by even the regular officials are inevitable. But should another “Fail Mary” occur, criticism on social media and the anger of losing gamblers figures to be even more brutal, and have lasting consequences.The NFL has already put together a list of officials at the college level who could be elevated if needed. The potential replacements will begin training May 1. If no deal is reached by the start of the regular season and the NFL relies again on replacement refs, it will do so under brighter lights, louder voices and with far less margin for error.

‘Fail Mary’ Lessons Echo as NFL Replacement Refs Could Face Social Media and Betting Backlash

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