Nearly everyone associated with the NFL and pretty much all fans of the league rejoiced when the referee lockout ended and a new deal was made. But there is one group disappointed that a deal was reached so quickly: the replacement referees. Read more after the jump.
Although their time in the spotlight was a disaster, replacement referee Jerry Frump seems to be disappointed that things ended so quickly.
“We were pawns. This really became a business deal,”Frump told Time. “I told my crew when we first got together, I said, ‘Gentlemen, you’re now working for probably one of the largest corporations in the country, maybe even the world. We need to keep that in mind, because we need to conduct ourselves professionally and in a way that does not degrade or disrespect what they stand for.’ This was [the NFL’s] choice. They chose to take this position in the negotiation with the union. Whether I would have [taken the job] — if I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have. We did the best we could.”
Frump acknowledged that the leap to the NFL was probably too great for many of the replacement referees and that some of them were probably unqualified for the job.
Although Frump is correct in saying that the replacement referees were pawns, I have no sympathy for any of them. If any of them were overmatched by the speed of the NFL, they shouldn’t have accepted the job. Those ones knew what they were getting themselves into; those fat paychecks don’t come without risks like being hated by fans or becoming national jokes.
