Replacement Refs

Replacement Refs

  • Submitted By: jnardo89
  • Date Submitted: 12/05/2012 11:20 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1190
  • Page: 5
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Joshua DiNardo 1
09/28/2012
Eng. 111 12:30pm paper #2

Replacement Referees:
Who is protecting our Shield?

The 2011 season of the National Football League was hindered to do a player lock-out during the offseason. The lock-out started because NFL Owners and the NFL Players Union could not come to an agreement on player salaries. This kept players out of training camp and offseason workouts inside NFL team’s facilities. That may not seem like a big deal, but in a sport as physical and hard-hitting as the NFL every player needs the offseason to improve their overall game and physical health with NFL trainers and coaches helping them along the way. Players were kept from NFL staff and facilities for months because a deal could not be made, leaving players to train and work-out on their own. There were more injuries, including many concussions, in the 2011 NFL season than any other season by a long shot. What’s more, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been trying to implement rules for safer tackling and less helmet-to-helmet hits across the league. How can coach’s coach safer tackling if the players can’t even step inside team facilities? Eventually, a deal was made, officially starting training camp, only a few weeks before the 2011 preseason. Obviously, due to the number of injuries by the end of the season, a few weeks aren’t enough time to prepare for a NFL season. I couldn’t imagine the NFL owners, who mostly consist of billionaires who have income coming from

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other sources, would put the player’s safety in jeopardy again due to a few million dollar disagreement.
Welcome the 2012 season: the season of replacement referees. Due to more contract negotiations, this time between owners and the National Football League Referee Association, player’s safety is put at risk. But more than player safety is at risk here with these negotiations. Roger Goodell and the NFL owners aren’t only ruining the integrity of the game but...

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