On the seven-member NFL officiating crew, it’s always the umpire -- the official who lines up in the middle of the defense, four or five yards from the line of scrimmage -- who’s most at risk. Umpires routinely get caught in the action and often end up knocked on their backsides.
Now the NFL is examining how they can keep umpires safe. Adam Schefter reported on ESPN this morning that the NFL’s Competition Committee will address the safety of the officials, and that umpires could be equipped with helmets or moved to another spot on the field.
Schefter notes that on Monday night, umpire Butch Hannah got hit by San Diego Chargers safety Steve Gregory, and in the Week 2 game between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, umpire Garth DeFelice was knocked down four times. (DeFelice showed last year that he can dish it out as well as he can take it, but the NFL doesn’t want players colliding with officials no matter who gets the worse end of the collision.)
The bottom line, Schefter reports, is that the NFL owners have already discussed the safety of the officials, and it’s an issue that the league is determined to act on before anyone gets hurt in a player-official collision.
