Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions surfaced how referees can sometimes be hilarious with their retort.
Alex Kemp, the head referee’s retort, has made headlines after the game. He said,
“I’m talking to America here, excuse me,”
The remarks were in response to the Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith being flagged for intentional grounding. The QB threw a ball toward the end zone with no WR as it appeared there was some miscommunication on offense Lockett’s route.
The coach Pete Carroll was also losing his cool, Smith also tried to protest the call and plead his case as Kemp announced the penalty. The interruption to the penalty call announcement was responded to by Kemp with the words ‘I’m talking to America here’ which went viral.
The call for intentional grounding was in the fourth quarter of the game when Kemp was announcing the penalty, Smith was arguing his case.
The QB Smith didn’t wait for the referee to declare the penalty as he cut off his microphone, fans then heard Kemp didn’t like interrupting him. The words of talking to America were announced with his microphone still on, then he didn’t finish the penalty announcement.
According to the NFL rules, the call of intentional grounding is when a quarterback is facing pressure and throws a “forward pass without a chance of completion.”
As per his plea, this wasn’t the case for Smith, who seems to have a clean pocket as he went to plead his case to head referee Alex Kemp.
Smith connected with Locket for a touchdown two plays later which made Seattle take the lead, 24-21, and Seattle won the game, 37-31, in overtime.
