NFL fans haven’t been shy to claim the Kansas City Chiefs have received preferential treatment from referees during their run to their third-straight Super Bowl appearance. During an appearance on Fox & Friends Friday, Tom Brady weighed in on the controversial accusations.
“I think it’s just all BS. It’s just a bunch of noise,” Brady said. “These refs have very challenging jobs to do. I’m very happy Twitter didn’t exist during the Tuck Rule Game in 2001, let me say that. I would’ve been on the wrong end on a lot of those. But these refs are out there trying to do their very best.
It’s worth noting that Brady couldn’t criticize the officials even if he wanted to. As a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady is prohibited from criticizing NFL referees.
Nonetheless, if anybody knows what it’s like for fans to claim they’re winning unfairly, it’s Tom Brady. Over his 23-year NFL career, Brady was accused countless times of receiving favorable calls and several other times of plainly cheating.
Brady believes that fans’ frustrations have more to do with the result of the games than any particular plays. After all, one play doesn’t define a game.
Earlier this week, the NFL Referees Association released a statement addressing fans’ accusations.
“Commissioner Goodell’s comments that it is ‘ridiculous’ to presume that NFL Officials are not doing everything possible to make the right call on every play is spot on,” said Scott Green, executive director of the NFLRA. “Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular
season. It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.
“There are many things that fans can worry about over a 17-game season, such as coaching decisions, player injuries, the weather and, yes, even close calls on incredible plays made by incredible athletes,” Green continued. “But you can rest assured that on every single down, NFL Officials, both on the field and in the replay booth, are doing everything humanly possible to officiate every play correctly.”
On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will look to win without any unforeseen advantages as they square off against the Philadelphia Eagles at 6:30 p.m. ET in Super Bowl LIX. The game will air live on FOX.
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