Roger Goodell Berated By NFL Fans, Senator After Green Bay Packers Loss
Seattle Seahawks Declared Winners After Replacement Refs Make Botched Call
Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, is catching heat from American football fans and even a Wisconsin senator who disagreed with calls made by replacement referees that are standing in for the regular referees currently on strike due to a labor dispute.
Although the lockout of 120 employees from the NFL Referees Association has been taking place since June, fans seemed to reach their boiling point on Monday night when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers 14-12 after the replacement referees seemed to make a bad call on the final play of the game. The referees botched the call on a final pass from Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson while the Packers were in the lead.
As Wilson tossed the ball into the end zone, Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate, pushed a defender to the ground. However, the Packer's M.D. Jennings managed to find the ball thrown by Wilson despite Tate's attempts.
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While many thought the Packers had successfully intercepted Wilson's pass, the replacement referees counted the play as a touchdown which made the Seahawks the victors much to the confusion of fans. After weeks of questionable calls from replacement referees, angry fans took to Twitter to sound off on the NFL commissioner after Monday night's debacle.
One of those fans was Wisconsin Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who tweeted the telephone number of Goodell on Monday night.
"You can leave a message for NFL commish Roger Goodell at (phone number) #NFL," he wrote in a message that was re-tweeted by over 1,000 people at press time.
Some fans attempted to start a boycott of the NFL in an attempt to get Roger Goodell to reinstate the regular referees who are currently on strike.
"If everyone turns off the #NFL game week 4 you will force @nflcommish Roger Goodell to do something," one person tweeted. "Ratings=Money."
Another person urged Goodell to overturn the decision that left the Packers with a loss on their record.
"C'mon @nflcommish ... you have sole authority to overturn last night's #MNF ruling," the fan tweeted. "#DoTheRightThing and award the win to the #Packers."
Still another seemed less optimistic about Goodell changing the outcome of Monday night's game.
"If any NFL players/fans think that last night's game will change Roger Goodell's stance with the real refs, you just don't get it," the person tweeted.
