NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual Super Bowl press conference on Monday ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs’ championship matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend.
While Goodell covered many topics during his comments to the media, perhaps the most surprising subject he touched on was the baseless conspiracy brewing online that involves the Chiefs and the NFL’s officials.
Goodell was asked by the pool of reporters about the constant bellyaching about the league’s referees and calls for or against Kansas City this season.
Jokingly, Goodell compared it to an infamous rumor spread by former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, which became the premise of a comedic commercial titled “The Table Read”, which posited that the league operates with a script.
“This reminds me of the script for the entire season. I think a lot of those theories are things that happen in social media, and they get a new life,” Goodell explained. “As you say, it’s not your theory, but out there. Nobody wants it to be their theory, and so I understand that. I think it reflects a lot of the fans’ fashion.” said Goodell. “I think it also is a reminder for us how important officiating is. And I think the men and women that officiate the NFL are outstanding. They have the highest possible standards.”
Former players and fans have often expressed their displeasure with game officials coincidentally during Chiefs games this season. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and many team personnel have been forced to address the criticism, and now the commissioner is discussing it before Super Bowl LIX.
“It’s a ridiculous theory for anyone who might take it seriously, but at the end of the day, it’s something we always have to continue to work on,” said Goodell. “How do we make our officiating better at all times? And if you look at the Chief’s record, which I think is an amazing thing, people talk about the competitors in our league, the Chiefs, with their 15 wins, 15 and two this year, 11 of those 15 games were within one score. And I think that talks about the competitiveness of our game and the importance of how we officiate it, but also both the competitiveness of how we played it.”
Goodell played down the criticism, but it is alarming that the topic is being carried into the biggest game of the year, focusing too much on the officials rather than the actual game.