Officiating games in a time of pandemic

[BTTA]

The officials can't be kept in a bubble, because they are part time EE's, who live at home, and most have other jobs.

The NFL is preparing for shortages, not by hiring and training more (Oh, the expense!) but by reintroducing the 5 man team should (inevitably) some of them test positive at some point.

Prevent defense: NFL reviewing 5-man officiating mechanics in case of staffing shortages – Football Zebras

This is going to be fun!

 

[TheRainMaker]

The fact the NFL can't pay referees as full time employees is beyond ridiculous!

 

[gobesmug]

The fact the NFL can't pay referees as full time employees is beyond ridiculous!

It would be ridiculous if they got paid full-time for 16-20 days of work in a year.

 

[TheRainMaker]

It would be ridiculous if they got paid full-time for 16-20 days of work in a year.

They train during the week so they can do a better job.

And like the NFL can't afford it.

 

[luuked]

The way the league has bungled their entire response to the pandemic has been hilarious. They had months to go plan for several scenarios, go through contingencies and negotiate with the NFLPA to provide clarity. They failed on all levels with respect to the players.

And now it also seems they have not even spend much thought on how to deal with any other essential game day personnel.

I don't think there is a major sports league world wide that has screwed up so badly while having so much prep time. What a bunch of incompetent bozos.

 

[luuked]

It would be ridiculous if they got paid full-time for 16-20 days of work in a year.

Why ? They are essential for the operations of a multi billion dollar business.

 

[gobesmug]

They train during the week so they can do a better job.

And like the NFL can't afford it.

Officials make 200K a year and get an 18K deposit to a 401K. I wouldn't complain if that's what I got to make for being "part-time".

 

[gobesmug]

Why ? They are essential for the operations of a multi billion dollar business.

My comment was more tongue in cheek than anything else. However, officials do make 200k a year and even have a 401k which they get 18k from the NFL deposited every year.

Let's not pretend they are underprivileged and poor.

 

[Soliel]

I would like to comment but don’t want to get started.

 

[BTTA]

Let's not pretend they are underprivileged and poor.

You are the only one bringing that up.

 

[BTTA]

It would be ridiculous if they got paid full-time for 16-20 days of work in a year.

That's a massive understatement, given the training and education requirements of the job.

But yeah, they'd have some "down time." So, put them to work. Have them be ambassadors for the NFL, go to schools and communities. They can educate, do service work, fill in as refs for poor high school districts, be guest assistant coaches. I think they could keep them busy with good work.

But as @luuked points out, there's a distinct lack of creative and visioning ability inside the NFL offices that leads to tons of lost opportunity.

 

[Soliel]

A word that explains it all. Goodell

 

[XLIX]

The way the league has bungled their entire response to the pandemic has been hilarious. They had months to go plan for several scenarios, go through contingencies and negotiate with the NFLPA to provide clarity. They failed on all levels with respect to the players.

And now it also seems they have not even spend much thought on how to deal with any other essential game day personnel.

I don't think there is a major sports league world wide that has screwed up so badly while having so much prep time. What a bunch of incompetent bozos.

You must not follow baseball.

I really don’t understand where you are getting the above. In labor negotiations, it is virtually inevitable that no resolution is found until the last minute. It happens all the time. Here with the NFL, it looks like camp is going to start on time.

 

[Patriot Missile]

201,000 is a pretty damn good weekend side job. Per diem, hotel and travel also paid for?

I’m not wasting any time feeling sorry for these guys.

 

[luuked]

My comment was more tongue in cheek than anything else. However, officials do make 200k a year and even have a 401k which they get 18k from the NFL deposited every year.

Let's not pretend they are underprivileged and poor.

201,000 is a pretty damn good weekend side job. Per diem, hotel and travel also paid for?

I’m not wasting any time feeling sorry for these guys.

The amount of money they get as compensation, the question whether they should be full time or not and whether the NFL should have by now provided clear plans for game day essential personnel to minimize their infection risk during a pandemic have all absolutely nothing in common with each other.

 

[TBR]

The fact the NFL can't pay referees as full time employees is beyond ridiculous!

They make $200k per year. The reason some have side-jobs is because they only work 1 day per week (2 or 3 max if you include travel to & from cities). And that's 16-20 weeks out of 52. They live quite comfortably. That's a low frequency of work compared to the NHL, NBA or MLB officials.

 

[gobesmug]

The amount of money they get as compensation, the question whether they should be full time or not and whether the NFL should have by now provided clear plans for game day essential personnel to minimize their infection risk during a pandemic have all absolutely nothing in common with each other.

I'm not confident there will be a season this year. The NFL has had months to have a gameplan, but unless they have kept their strategy hidden, nothing indicates they will be able to handle positive testing on players/personnel during the season.

At least the NBA created a plan for a bubble that the NFL could have modeled. And who knows maybe they will depending on how it plays out for the NBA.

 

[Patriot Missile]

The amount of money they get as compensation, the question whether they should be full time or not and whether the NFL should have by now provided clear plans for game day essential personnel to minimize their infection risk during a pandemic have all absolutely nothing in common with each other.

N95 masks, rubber gloves and well fitted safety eyewear sports goggles should protect them just fine. The players are the ones that have a lot more to worry about due to the physical contact.

NFL is just dragging their feet to put everything on the table because they know if their plan sucks, its going to be shut down. They need more time to put the right people in their pocket to approve their safety measures, before they send it to an actual union that is going to tear it to shreds.

 

[gobesmug]

The amount of money they get as compensation, the question whether they should be full time or not and whether the NFL should have by now provided clear plans for game day essential personnel to minimize their infection risk during a pandemic have all absolutely nothing in common with each other.

It doesn't matter if they are labeled Full-time, part time, or seasonal. The only thing that matters is if the NFL creates a bubble like the NBA is doing. Without a bubble, people will test positive, and the season might be put on hold or cancelled.

 

[Kdo5]

The way the league has bungled their entire response to the pandemic has been hilarious. They had months to go plan for several scenarios, go through contingencies and negotiate with the NFLPA to provide clarity. They failed on all levels with respect to the players.

And now it also seems they have not even spend much thought on how to deal with any other essential game day personnel.

I don't think there is a major sports league world wide that has screwed up so badly while having so much prep time. What a bunch of incompetent bozos.

I agree but realistically what plans can they make? You can’t do a bubble. There are so many players that it is impossible to think a bunch of them won’t get Covid. How much freaking testing will you need to do given practice every day?

Football is simply not feasible at all. It will not work out during a surging pandemic. They don’t have a plan because it’s impossible they are just trying to make it happen regardless and it will fail.