Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was his blunt, straight-shooting self when appearing on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas this week.
When peppered with questions regarding rules and officiating and how owners should step in, he answered, “I must have been in a fog for the last 30 years, but any meaningful rule change that I’ve ever seen in any major issue no matter defensively, offensive, passing game, running game, the owners approved it,” Jones said.
“So I didn’t realize that we won’t approve officiating. And I know we’re paying them, the people that are officiating. That is our money.”
There have been a number of key officiating mistakes this season, but this is part and parcel of the game.
“I recognize the challenge and let me tell you this … instant replay puts a lot of pressure on making the call on the field right, as it should be. I like it. But the officiating is a part of the game,” said Jones.
The pressure for officials has never been starker with the rise of sports betting as each decision can cost serious money, and when a bad call happens the word “fix” is often attached.
The referee adage of bad calls happens and often even themselves out over a season will not cut it in a highly competitive sports betting world.
There is much work to be done, but the question is how to officiate without taking human error into account, even with the hindsight of replays to assist referees.
Some calls are open to interpretation and commentators, coaches, fans and players are often left stumped by a call, with neither side completely right or wrong.
Either way, referee errors are not found to be eliminated despite the best of efforts and unless singularity catches up it never will. But who wants robots on the field, and at which level does it start? College, High school or peewee league?
