The labor union representing NFL referees on Tuesday blasted “conspiracy theories” that officials have been tilting games in favor of the two-time-defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Baseless allegations that referees are the bag for Kansas City have been running rampant for years, to the point where NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had to address it this week as the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles prep for Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“Commissioner Goodell’s comments that it is ‘ridiculous’ to presume that NFL Officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot on,” according to a statement by NFLRA executive director Scott Green.
“Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.”
The union pointed out that its members are graded “every week, on every single play of each game” and that “grades are the determining factor as to who receives postseason assignments.”
“There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,” Green continued.
“But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL Officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly.”
The union’s 234-word statement made zero references to the “Chiefs” or “Kansas City.”
But the context of its bulletin couldn’t have been more clear, with keyboard warriors and meme artists constantly spreading baseless referee/Chiefs conspiracy theories, though yellow flags have been falling in Kansas City’s favor for years.
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting QB in the fall of 2018, he’s led K.C. to a remarkable 17-3 playoff run, with three Super Bowl wins.
And in those 20 postseason games, Kansas City has been assessed more penalty yardage than the opposing team just three times.
The penalty tilt has been particularly sharp in the past 12 K.C. postseason contests as Chiefs opponents have been hit by more yellow flags 11 times with one tie. K.C. opponents have endured more penalty yardage in 11 of those dozen matches.
The Chiefs/referees issue led to high-level comedy earlier this week when former Boston radio show host Rich Shertenlieb trolled both Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce about the alleged zebra favoritism.
“Patrick, for your whole career you have had so many great people help you win,” Shertenlieb asked Mahomes. “So, who is your favorite ref?”
Mahomes chuckled and commented, “That’s hilarious,” before launching into a stock defense of refs: “All the refs are great, man. All the refs are great. They do the best they can. And we go out there and play the game the right way.”
Kelce seemed less entertained when Shertenlieb asked: “Travis, what do you love more: Taylor Swift or phantom 15-yard roughing the passer penalties in the playoffs?”
Kelce simply blew off the trolling query: “That’s a good question. Anybody else?”
In the seven years of the Mahomes era, the Chiefs have been all over the map in terms of the number of penalties they’ve received.
In the 2018 regular season, a campaign which ended in an AFC title game loss to the New England Patriots, Kansas City was flagged 137 times for 1,152 yards — both NFL highs.
The Chiefs have generally been in the middle of the pack since then, though this regular season was a particularly strong one for dodging yellow laundry. The Chiefs were flagged 94 times, fourth lowest in the NFL, for 829 yards, a solid 11th from the bottom.
While no outrageously bad flags have been made during this dynastic K.C. playoff run, the Chiefs have benefitted from a handful of close calls.
- San Francisco 49ers fans are still bitter about a game-turning, Mahomes-to-Tyreek Hill pass in the fourth quarter of the 2020 Super Bowl. Niners pass rusher Nick Bosa appeared to be held and prevented from a sack that could have iced the game for San Francisco.
- In the 2023 Super Bowl, Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was flagged for a third-down defensive holding call against Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, allowing K.C. to bleed the clock and kick a short winning field goal. While Bradberry admitted to the penalty after the game, much of the football fan world disagreed with that call.
- And just 1 ½ weeks ago in the AFC title game, it appeared that Buffalo Bills QB made the line to gain of a key fourth-and-inches play. The call went in K.C.’s favor and the Chiefs cashed in that fourth-quarter stop for their last TD of that game, a 32-29 victory.
The union said “integrity of the game” is paramount.
“The NFL Referees Association, the union representing all NFL Officials, appreciates the NFL Commissioner’s comments yesterday about our members’ unwavering dedication to fairness and maintaining the integrity of the game,” according to the union statement on Tuesday.
