The biggest NFL officiating blunder on Sunday may have came inside the tunnel after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss to the Carolina Panthers.
A video emerged on social media Sunday evening that appeared to show side judge Jeff Lambert handline judge Tripp Sutter seeking Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans for an autograph.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the league is reviewing the incident, which may be a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and Referee’s Association.
Per the CBA, “Game Officials shall not…sell or trade NFL tickets for anything of greater value than the face value of the tickets; or…sell or trade anything of value NFL merchandise, autographs or memorabilia; or…ask players, coaches or any other team personnel for autographs or memorabilia.”
The only circumstance an official is allowed to obtain an autograph, team merchandise or memorabilia is for “personal or charitable purposes.” But those requests “should be made through the Officiating Department and never to a player or team employee directly,” per the CBA (h/t ProFootballTalk).
Refs are already subject to plenty of criticism as it is and having them seek autographs of players after the game will surely only further fuel suspicions among fan bases about their impartialness.
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