It was a long day on the field for the Arizona Cardinals during Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. However, it was an interaction between star tight end Trey McBride and an NFL official, line judge Jeff Seeman, that may have the longest impact.
On a third-and-three play in the fourth quarter, McBride argued that there was pass interference. It’s unclear exactly what McBride said to Seeman, but the broadcast cameras didn’t leave anything ambiguous about what Seeman said.
It appears that Seeman says, “[Expletive] you. [Expletive] you.”
The incident would go viral, with the majority of fans commenting on a double standard that officials go by on the field. Some also pointed out that McBride points to the camera. So, the Cardinals star might have had some idea that this would come back to bite Seeman.
The NFL, NFLPA Respond to Referees Swearing at Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride
Shortly after the incident went viral in the Cardinals and Giants game, the NFLPA made the decision to get involved. JC Tretter, the Executive Director of the NFLPA, shared his thoughts on Twitter/X.
“This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter wrote. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”
Tretter’s complaint doesn’t seem to be falling on deaf ears. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported shortly after the incident and Tretter’s response that the NFL is “reviewing” the situation.
“The NFL said it is reviewing the situation in which an official appears to use profanity at Cardinals TE Trey McBride. The NFLPA Executive Director JC Tretter called for the NFL to hold the official accountable,” Schefter wrote.
The Athletic reported that it reached out to the NFL Referees Association for a comment. However, at the time of writing, they’ve yet to share a response to McBride and Seeman’s interaction.
This was one of a couple of notable incidents that happened around the NFL involving officials on Sunday. In the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins game, players tangled up after a play. Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson was pushed into referee Adrian Hill, who was knocked down. Wilson offered Hill help getting up, but Hill popped up and began yelling in Wilson’s face. Another official got in between the two, but seemed more focused on Wilson.
It remains to be seen if the Cardinals and McBride get any notices about the incident from the NFL. However, this seems like a story that will need to be publicly addressed.
Coaches and Players are Punished for Similar Behavior
There are a few reasons why so much focus was put on these incidents. Most importantly, NFL referees need to be impartial, and demonstrating clearly negative interactions toward a player or team brings that into immediate question.
Furthermore, there are many fans upset about a double standard in play. Players and coaches can be penalized in a game or fined after for how they speak to officials, but officials are rarely ever penalized by the NFL. At least, they’re rarely penalized in a way fans notice.
This also came on a day when New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had his own negative interaction with an official. He used expletives while arguing a call on Sunday and got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for it.
“I told them that it was a terrible — I’m not going to say — [expletive] call,” Vrabel said. “I’ve said that 87 times since I’ve been a head coach. There was nothing derogatory. You know, you’d have to ask [the referee]. I think he was a little sensitive.”
After that game, referee Bill Vinovich confirmed the penalty was for the language he used at an official. However, when officials are using that language at McBride, it’s hard to take the explanation seriously.
NFL, NFLPA Get Involved After Cardinals Trey McBride, Referee Viral Interaction