NFL official says "favoritism" is over as league fires three refs after playoff controversies

On Thursday, it was announced that the National Football League had fired three referees.

In an article by the New York Post, Matt Ehalt outlined how James Carter, Robin DeLorenzo, and Robert Richardson had all been released from their contracts.

Carter was most recently a second year NFL umpire, while DeLorenzo was in his third year as a line judge, and Richardson had just finished his first season as a down judge.

The news is notable as referees were at the forefront of fan frustration for the majority of the 2024 season. Throughout the campaign, many fans voiced their displeasure with how the Kansas City Chiefs and star QB Patrick Mahomes appeared to be receiving important penalties in their favor with the game on the line.

While it does not appear that any of the officials released are connected to the fan frustration regarding the penalty and playoff controversies, Carter was an alternate in one of the Wild Card round games earlier this year. The other two individuals did not, or were not eligible to receive playoff appearances this past season.

Questionable referee calls from the 2024 NFL season

In the playoffs of the 2024 season, there were some questionable calls that undoubtedly helped the Chiefs progress into the later rounds of the postseason. While this is not to say that Kansas City were not deserving of advancing or that these calls completely decided the game, both were costly penalties for the opposition in crucial times in the game.

In the AFC Wild Card round, the Chiefs were against the Houston Texans. In the game, there was an instance where Mahomes was a runner and slid fairly late. Two Houston defenders both attempted to tackle Mahomes and eventually hit into one another in the proximity of Mahomes. However, a flag was thrown for unnecessary roughness (15-yard penalty and a first down), something that commentator Troy Aikman was frustrated with and did not think was a penalty.

Finally, in a game against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship, the Chiefs were awarded a catch in which both the offensive and defensive players were fighting for the ball. While a tie generally goes to the offense, the ball clearly hit the ground, something that usually indicates an incomplete pass. However, the review announced that the receiver had possession of the ball, an extremely unclear call.