STEELE SPORTS

If you are a sports fan, the odds are that you have witnessed officials being criticized for their performance during a certain game at one point or another.

The ugly truth about sports – particularly those in the United States that earn massive media attention – is that the accuracy of officials is viewed as pivotal and subjective in nearly every contest.

A perfect example of this comes from a play that I’m sure many of you reading this article remember clearly from the Kansas City Chiefs' 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles this past weekend in Super Bowl LVII.

As time wound down in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia’s James Bradberry was called for holding on a third down incompletion that gave Kansas City a first down instead of forcing the Chiefs to kick a field goal the next play and allowing Philadelphia a chance to get back in the game with a minute remaining.

Fans were quick to hit social media to express their disdain for such a call that effectively won the game for the Chiefs.

Television sportscaster Kirk Herbstreit even went to Twitter to express his feelings on the call and said, “Usually don’t get involved in ripping referees but hate that defensive holding call on Bradberry. 35-35 late on a third-down incompletion on what was a marginal foul? Let ’em play man! Bad call. I hate that this is what many will take away from this game.”

While it is understandable that some decisions made by officials may prove to be critical in deciding the outcome of games, what I can’t support is the blatant blaming of them for a certain game’s outcome.

My reason for this belief is simple: If you want human officials, you have to deal with the consequences of human error.

Baseball is sport's finest example on the subject.

For years, fans and MLB clubs have battled the idea of using automated umpires to decide factors of the game such as balls and strikes and calls in the field.

Traditionalists will always claim that automated umpires and the use of replay have no place in sports that have used human officials since their creation.

Yet, every time an official makes a call that appears to be wrong, fans are quick to blame them for their miscue.

Here is the bottom line: Officials are human, and much like the athletes on the field, officials tasked with working professional-level games are not there by mistake.

Quite honestly, those willing to step into the field of play and put the responsibility of maintaining the fairness of the game into their own hands deserve more credit for their bravery.

Undoubtedly the official whose call in Super Bowl LVII directly influenced the Chief’s final drive to win the game will have to deal with the consequences of his decisions every time he opens his phone or turns on a sports talk show on his TV.

No matter how well he contributed to keeping the game fair for the first 58 minutes of play, that one call will define his entire performance.

That is a lot of pressure that we are putting on officials’ shoulders.

What we sports fans have to understand as a collective is that officials are not perfect, just like the athletes who are actually playing in the game.

Officials make calls based on their training and experience – not to sway the outcome of a game.

For those still angered by the late call in Super Bowl LVII, know this: even Bradberry admitted to the foul.

In a post-game interview, the cornerback went on to say, “It was holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.”