Optics of casino-sponsored Super Bowl become risky in wake of NFC title game

Much has been written about how media figures who stoke conspiracies have come to dominate segments of political discourse. There’s no Alex Jones or Qanon equivalent for sports, but that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of people looking to make connections, however tenuous, to explain why something unfair played out the way it did. Sometimes professional sports leagues don’t do themselves any favors in this regard. After all, why did the NFL destroy the Spygate evidence rather turn any of it over for public scrutiny?

This has become evident over the past week, as the NFL deals with the fallout over an egregious non-call of a pass interference penalty committed by the Rams late in their victory over the Saints in the NFC championship. As many Saints officials, players and Louisiana politicians try to make sense of how such a seemingly clear ruling was blown, a curious coincidence has gained some attention: Four officials who worked the NFC title game reside in Southern California.

The story from ESPN's Adam Schefter indicated that neither the Saints nor league officials believe the regional ties influenced the lack of a call. The story also noted both the Rams and the Saints were notified, per standard policy, six days in advance which officials were working the game, and neither organization objected. That said, it’s unlikely each official’s place of residence was included in the assignment information.

When protecting the integrity of the game and the perception of fairness is of such paramount importance, it behooves the NFL to avoid potential bad optics because fans and the media are usually all too eager to fill in the blanks. It’s not as though the league is unmindful of these considerations at all — just not for this reason, as former head of officiating Dean Blandino tweeted on Monday.