Saints owner issues critical statement after NFC Championship loss

The New Orleans Saints clearly won’t be taking Sunday’s NFC Championship loss lying down.

Saints owner Gayle Benson released a statement Monday saying the team was “unfairly deprived” of the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl by an uncalled pass interference penalty late in regulation of the team’s 26-23 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

“No team should ever be denied the opportunity to reach the title game (or simply win a game) based on the actions, or inactions, of those charged with creating a fair and equitable playing field,” Benson said in the statement. “As is clear to all who watched the game, it is undeniable that our team and fans were unfairly deprived of that opportunity yesterday.

“I have been in touch with the NFL regarding yesterday’s events and will aggressively pursue changes in NFL policies to ensure no team and fan base is ever put in a similar position again. It is a disservice to our coaches, players, employees and, most importantly, the fans who make our game possible. The NFL must always commit to providing the most basic of expectations- fairness and integrity.”

Some members of the Saints have gone as far as to suggest that commissioner Roger Goodell should intervene and overturn the result. Benson doesn’t go that far. It’s hard to say what could be done differently, though — even if you make penalties challengable, it’s still a situation where no flag was thrown.