On Monday night, the NFL replacement officials made a terrible call that robbed the Green Bay Packers of a victory, and gave the Seattle Seahawks one, on the final play of the game. Watch the video through the link and judge for yourself, if you have not seen it. The NFL has tried to support this decision, but I doubt anybody but Seattle fans and their team are buying it.
Back in June, 2010, American League umpire Jim Joyce made a wrong call on the final out of a Indians – Tigers game that robbed Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga of a perfect game. To be fair, Jim Joyce publicly apologized, but he should have pushed major league baseball to reverse the ruling given it had no external impact like game outcome or playoff race, or different outcome the way it was allowed to play out.
Both of these were potentially game ending rulings if done right. That is, what came after would not have mattered. There were no “what ifs” had the rulings been changed, like a mid-game ruling where there were lots to still play for and anything might still have happened.
So why can’t they be reversed and the correct results be placed in the record books?
Digital Citizen 