N.J. State Senate President Steve Sweeney proposes legislation to ban replacement officials from professional sports
The replacement official situation in the NFL may have reached its boiling point on Monday night with one of the worst endings in league history, and like many others New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney believes it’s time for someone to take action. However, Sweeney is looking to take matters a step further than bringing back the regular NFL officials. He wants replacement officials permanently banned from professional sports.
According to CBS New York, the N.J. Senate Democratic Caucus announced on Tuesday that has introduced legislation that would ban fill-in officials for good.
“This past weekend in the NFL has not only made a mockery of a great sport, but shined a very bright light on how important fully trained and professional officiating is to player safety,” Sweeney said in an issued statement. “We wouldn’t allow a factory or construction site to operate without fully trained supervisors on hand to ensure the safety of employees. Why should we do anything differently when the job site is a playing field?”
In addition to questions about the integrity of the game and hilarious comments about the league crapping on people’s paintings, safety has been a major concern since the replacement refs have been in charge of games.
Realistically, it is the NFL that needs to end the referee lockout and bring back its regular officials. Battling sports issues in the court room rarely gets anything accomplished, but any extra kick in the you-know-what for the NFL is more than welcome at this point.
