On Monday, the NFL suspended two referees following on-field incidents with players, and one prominent NFL voice thinks that the league made the right decision.
NFL insider and analyst Mike Florio says that the NFL was “right to hold officials to a higher standard” than it even holds coaches and players.
Referees Suspended
------------------
On Monday, the NFL announced suspensions for both line judge Jeff Seeman and referee Adrian Hill.
Seeman has been suspended for two games after cameras caught him yelling an explicit phrase directly at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Hill, meanwhile, has been suspended for one game after his overreaction toward Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson after Wilson accidentally knocked him to the ground.
Both incidents received a lot of attention on social media, with Seeman’s incident [even sparking a statement](https://thecomeback.com/nfl/nflpa-issues-statement-after-cameras-catch-unacceptable-referee-behavior.html) from the NFL Players Association, which called his actions “unacceptable.”
‘The league had no choice’
--------------------------
In a column published on Tuesday, Florio said that the league made the right move by suspending the referees.
“The league had no choice. The officials are supposed to be neutral, measured, and detached. They’re the judges in the courtroom that is a football field. And judges typically don’t say “fuck you” to the lawyers or the parties who appear before them,” Florio wrote on Tuesday for [Pro Football Talk](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-was-right-to-hold-officials-to-a-higher-standard-than-coaches-players). “Appearances matter. How can anyone expect the players and coaches to restrict their behavior if the officials can’t, or won’t?”
Florio thinks that this response is especially fair considering how the league has gone “fine-happy” against the players so far this year and is quick to throw flags for “taunting.”
“Besides, the NFL has suddenly gone fine-happy over previously acceptable celebrations by players. Also, it’s constantly looking for any type of actual or perceived ‘taunting’ indignity that could increase the on-field temperature between players. That standard should apply to officials — and it should be an even higher bar,” Florio wrote.