The NFL made headlines last night after a controversial call decided the result of a football game. The Dallas Cowboys ended up defeating the Detroit Lions 20-19 in a huge win. However, one controversial call overshadowed this.
That controversial call involved a Lions offensive lineman. That lineman claimed that he reported as eligible before a successful two-point conversion was wiped off the board. As a result, Detroit failed another attempt and ended up losing the game.
However, there is a plot twist to this. There were a lot of betting dollars at stake because of this call. Now, one NFL legend claims that the league’s integrity is in jeopardy because of this.
Carl Banks Calls Out the NFL
Legendary New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks was not shy about making his opinion known on this call. He not only won multiple Super Bowls with the Giants, but he is also the radio commentator for New York Giants games. As a former player and a member of the media, Banks stated that after last night, the integrity of the league is in jeopardy:
“Incidents like this (correct call or not) have many sports bettors questioning the integrity of the sport.” -Carl Banks
Sportsbooks Heavily Benefited From This Call
What makes this claim more legitimate is that sportsbooks heavily benefited from this controversial call last night. John Ewing releases betting data from BetMGM. Before the game, he noted how much money was on each side of the spread and moneyline bets.
Thanks to this controversial call, the Cowboys ended up winning the game by one point. If not for that call, it would have likely led to a Lions win. So, how much did that mean for sportsbooks? For BetMGM, 83% of the handle for moneyline bets was on the Lions. The Cowboys had 67% of the handle for spread bets.
As you can see, sportsbooks had a great night thanks to the final result of that game. However, this came at the expense of 86% of the bettors. It is fair for this to leave a sour taste in one’s mouth.
Referees Defend Call
What makes this worse is that despite the backlash, referees on and off of the field are sticking to their guns. Brad Allen, the referee who made the controversial call last night, insisted that the wrong player reported as eligible. However, he is not alone.
John Parry, who is a rules analyst for ESPN and a former NFL referee, also defended Allen. He claimed that Allen did not recognize the right offensive lineman. However, Parry also claimed that it was the lineman’s responsibility to make sure that everyone fully understood who was eligible.
SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt pushed back heavily on this. Van Pelt jokingly claimed that the lineman would have to do “jumping jacks” to report as eligible in this case.
In summary, there should be no surprises here. The referees are protecting each other, and the NFL front office is silent. Then, fans, media members, and even players are rightfully outraged.
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