NEW ORLEANS (WWL.com) -- The New Orleans Saints will miss Benjamin Watson next season -- not just on the field, but in the locker room and the community.
The 38-year-old tight end announced that he was hanging up his cleats after this season, which was cut short in large part due to the infamous "no-call in Nola" at the end of the NFC championship against the Los Angeles Rams.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has not publicly addressed the play, on which the officials missed obvious pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis during a late-fourth-quarter drive. Goodell's disappearance during this fiasco has been maddening to Saints fans and players.
Watson decided to direct a message to Goodell on social media:
"Commissioner Goodell. We all realize that football is an imperfect game, played, coached and officiated by imperfect people," Watson wrote. "What occurred last Sunday in New Orleans though, was outside of that expected norm. Your continued silence on this matter is unbecoming of the position you hold, detrimental to the integrity of the game and disrespectful and dismissive to football fans everywhere. From the locker room to Park Ave, accountability is what makes our league great. Lead by example. We are waiting."
