Lockout Shows NFL's True Shield

The NFL and NFLRA finally reached a deal late Wednesday night and the sanity of football fans everywhere has been spared. Official NFL referees will be in place for all of week four’s games, which comes to a relief to many players, fans, coaches, and even President Barack Obama, but the last three weeks in which the NFL allowed for such terrible events take place on the field is down right despicable.

Commissioner Goodell claimed the preposterous touchdown that unfairly handed the Green Bay Packers a loss on Monday night was not the tipping point that propelled the league to finalize negotiations. It is just hard to acknowledge that the national backlash didn’t push the NFL to end that embarrassing debacle.

Goodell also apologized for the events that have taken place over the last few weeks. It was an empty apology attempting to justify the selfish “long-term” business of the NFL. Goodell is sorry for himself and his legacy, which will forever be in shambles. Sadly, commissioners in any sport are remembered for the worst thing that happened during their tenure. If Goodell really cared, he would have gotten the deal done before opening kickoff in New York, but there was just too much money to be made.

What happened at the end of Monday Night Football between the Seahawks and Packers will go down as one of the most embarrassing events to ever take place on a football field. One image summed up a month of football. Two referees, making eye contact, and then making different calls. It catapulted the NFL to the top story on every national cable news station across the country.

When the Today Show is leading with the NFL replacement refs, the league has a problem and now they are trying to save tail. They have stated that no players will be fined for their vulgar tweets regarding refs – a clear indicator that they, the owners, were aware that they were wrong.

Goodell and the NFL thought that the replacement refs would do enough of a job to leverage the referees union into reducing their demands. They failed to realize that the NFL is much more than just the game of football. For a league that takes so much pride in the “the shield”, they showed true ignorance to the fact that anything less than the best is an insult to everyone who loves and supports the NFL.

The true colors of the NFL shined bright over the last three weeks. The NFL is not for player safety, it is not for “protecting the shield”, and it is not for the passion of the game. The NFL is a money making machine that knows that they have power over the American population. They knew ratings and ticket sales wouldn’t drop and because of it, the league was more than willing to give the fans an inferior project.

With the real referees back in the game, football will begin to go look normal. Games will have the same old flow. They’ll be less discussion about the missed calls and more discussion on the actually

However, the finalized deal should not draw an end to the questions pointed at Roger Goodell. A very dark line has been drawn between Goodell and the fans, players and refs that make the NFL what it is. Fans now know what Goodell really stands for. He has contradicted everything he has done for player safety. He endangered every player by allowing replacement refs from the Lingerie League to officiate games.

For three weeks, the NFL allowed the greatest professional sports league in America to become a complete circus just so the NFL could flex their muscles. But as the fans found out, those muscles simply couldn’t hold up to the muscles powered by Ed Hochuli, the NFLRA and the fans that surround the certified officials.