Dak Prescott was in some trouble after making an inflammatory comment about Sunday’s Wild Card game officials. After initially disparaging Cowboys supporters for throwing things onto the field from stands, he realized that the crowd was actually aiming at the referees.
Prescott replied, “A credit to them then.”
“The fans felt the same way as us,” he continued. “I guess that’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast. I think everybody is upset with the way this thing played out.”
Prescott’s comment has been met with widespread criticism since Sunday. The latest denunciation came from the officiating community.
On Tuesday, the National Basketball Referee’s Association used Twitter to criticize Cowboys quarterback. The NBRA stood with its NFL counterparts, and called on the league to take further discipline actions.
“The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials. As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future,” the statement read.
The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials. As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future.
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) January 18, 2022
Prescott has not been disciplined by the NFL as of Tuesday.
The officiating at Sunday’s Cowboys-49ers match was the subject of much debate, despite the fact that the comment by the quarterback was clearly deplorable. Mike Pereira, an NFL rules analyst, offered his evaluation of the performance of the referees on Monday. He said that even though he was not unhappy with the outcome of the game’s end, he still had some concerns.
He said that he believed the officiating crew worked hard to reach the spot. “But I do know one thing: if you’re so fast, don’t worry if the ball isn’t returned a yard. Just touch it and get out. If it’s still possible to adjust the ball, you can do so by putting it back a yard.
“I think mechanically it could’ve been handled a little bit better.”