Week upon week, the Colts receive calls from the officials that result in Colts' wins and cause everyone in America to scratch their heads in amazement. Consequently, there is now an avalanche of discussion openly claiming that the NFL is fixed, rigged, manipulated and managed. Tim Donaghy showed us how easy it is to manufacture outcomes in NBA games. As both the NBA and the NFL are heavily officiated, it would be a simple matter for the NFL to manage games as the NBA allegedly does.
I was recently asked whether I thought instant replay in the NFL is a good idea. I responded that, yes, it is a good idea, but it doesn't go far enough. With holding and pass interference penalties having no standard for being issued, and since a single call decides victory, it is time for the NFL to enhance the integrity of the game and give reassurance to the fans that the contest is an honest fight.
To restore trust to the fans and to reassure us all of the legitmacy of the sport, each and every holding, block in the back and pass interference call needs to be subject to automatic official review. A panel of three reviewers should vote on the call, and their votes should be publicly displayed and archived.
Given these regular and inexplicable calls that inure disproportionately to a single team's favor, it's likely that some U.S. Attorney or some investigative reporter, somewhere in the U.S., would start to take a keener interest in the sport. Dan Moldea seems convinced that the NFL is fixed, but he doesn't have subpoena power or the power of the front page.
Many Americans have turned away from Sunday Football, because they doubt its legitimacy. I would think that the NFL would take a simple step to restore the image and integrity of the game. Since a single call determines a winner, it's important to get each and every call right. Let the refs know that someone has to sign off on their calls, and we might start to get less puzzling games.
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