There are, as you should know by now, no on-field officials in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But there may be soon.
Former field judge, referee and director of officiating Art McNally this week was chosen as the Hall’s 2022 finalist for the Class of 2022. That doesn’t mean he’s been enshrined. It simply means he'll be presented to the Hall’s 49-member board of selectors early next year for induction, with an approval vote of 80 percent to be elected.
Maybe McNally’s choice on Tuesday didn’t resonate with you. But it did with thousands of current and former officials nationwide, according to FOX rules analyst and former NFL senior VP of officiating Mike Pereira, who joined the latest “Eye Test for Two” podcast (fullpressradio.com).
“(It) was probably the most emotional day that officials around the country have had in a long time,” Pereira said. “I don’t think you realize what this means. For us … and I say ‘us’ because it is as if we got a bust ... just because we're represented by Art.
“The disrespect that we seem to have gotten over time when it comes to the Hall is hurtful. It makes you feel as if you’re not part of a game that, quite frankly, couldn’t be played without us.
"(Last Tuesday) was like a shotgun blast all around the country. And I swear to God, all the way down to youth officials, for Art McNally to represent us … he is the guy – THE GUY – who is the one to represent us. Not to just get an award. Not just get recognition. But to get a bust? It’s unbelievable.”
It is unbelievable, mostly because officials haven’t been recognized by Canton. Ever. Granted, Hugh “Shorty” Ray, once the league’s de facto supervisor, was enshrined in 1966, 14 years after his retirement. But he never officiated on the field.
Ray is the only member of the officiating fraternity enshrined, and that’s more than odd. It’s downright puzzling.
The NBA Hall has 16 referees. Cooperstown has 10 umpires. And the Hockey Hall of Fame has 16 officials. But Canton? Zilch. McNally may be the first on-field official to break that shutout, and, yes, that’s news. Since the Hall first elected non-players as contributors in 2015, there have been five GMs or personnel directors, three owners, one scout, one commissioner and one head of NFL Films chosen as candidates.
There hasn’t been one official. Now, there is – with McNally, senior finalist Cliff Branch and coaching finalist Dick Vermeil all virtual certainties for induction to the Class of 2022.
But that raises the question: Why haven't officials been recognized until now?
“Because, honestly, there’s nothing positive that comes out of officiating,” said Pereira. “It’s just the way it is. Pretty much everything that an official does is negative. I mean, they throw a yellow flag signifying that somebody fouled, and even if they’re right they pointed out something negative.
“Look, I understand sometimes you don’t even get support from within your own organization, like the NFL, for example, because nobody calls the commissioner and says, ‘Hey, your officials are doing a great job.’ No owner calls and says that. They will call and scream bloody murder, and it’s also a part of the National Football League that doesn’t raise any money.
“The whole thing when you think about officiating (is): What’s the standard? What do you try to do? What’s the goal of the league? The goal of the league is to have people not talking about you.
"At the end of the game, the goal of the officials is not to pick up the newspaper and say, ‘Hey, Ed Hochuli and his crew did a great job in this game!’ The goal is that you’re not even mentioned. And I think, that’s basically the way it is.”
Art McNally just got mentioned. And you know something? It’s a good thing.
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