"NFL Not Firing Replacement Ref Pulled From Game; Will Not Give Him Saints Assignments"

From SportsBusiness Journal

Review by Beau Banglesdorf in KIN 332 (section 2)

Brian Stropolo was pulled from this past Sunday’s Saints vs. Panthers game after pictures were found on his Facebook page of him wearing Saints clothes and being a Saints Fan. Brian Stropolo was not fired and the NFL said he would continue to work games starting week three of the current season (the next week). This incident triggered a lot of media buzz. Sport writers were coming out and saying things like the NFL should be embarrassed, Brian Stropolo should not be allowed to work for the NFL anymore, the integrity of the game of football is slipping, and that the NFL is not doing its job when it comes to screening officials before hiring them. Due to the replacement officials struggles on the field, players are starting to voice their disappointment with the officials and analysts are agreeing with the players and are saying that the replacement officials are negatively impacting the NFL. Players are getting away with more things on the field and games are taking longer to be played out due to the officials’ lack of understanding and implementing of the rules.

I believe the replacement officials are seriously hurting the NFL brand right now. Fans are complaining on how long the games are taking. If games continue to last this long, fans are going to start to become unwilling to devote four hours to watch a football game instead of the three hours they have become accustomed to. Also, with players and analysts coming out and criticizing the officials and down playing their knowledge of the game and ability to keep a game under control, NFL fans are going to start believing that and stop caring as much about the outcomes to games because they do not know if the better team really won. This will result in lost fans, lower revenues, and lower TV ratings. I could see other leagues such as college football or the UFL (United Football League) taking advantage of the current situation the NFL has with their officials and making gains in fans and TV ratings which would result in higher revenue and more brand recognition.