NFL to Resume Talks with “Real” Refs

In a last ditch effort to fix their relationship before the NFL season kicks off next week, the NFL and the locked-out officials will meet in New York to try and hash out a deal that will ensure this upcoming season is played without the services of replacement refs.

Earlier this week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that replacement referees will be used in the first game of the season when the Cowboys and Giants take the field on Wednesday night. But as we learned recently, that’s not something that’s set in stone.

“There’s a short-term issue which we obviously would love to be able to get the best officials on the field,” Goodell told the media in an interview on Thursday. “If we can’t reach an agreement, we’ll proceed with the replacement officials as long as it takes.”

This is will mark the first time in a at least a month that the two sides are meeting and it’s the most promising meeting yet. The NFL has drawn sharp and harsh criticism from fans and analysts for it’s hypocritical stance on player safety. On the one hand, the NFL is quick to suspend and fine players they feel violated player safety rules. But in stark contradiction to that, the NFL is fully supporting replacements refs who have demonstrated they’re knowledge of the game is not in the best interest of player safety.

Both sides will meet on Friday and a decision is likely to come soon on whether the NFL season will begin with replacement refs, or the real deal. One thing that will come out of all this though, will be a renowned love for actual refs by the people who give them the most grief: the fans.