Roger Goodell Must Facilitate Immediate End to Referee Lockout After MNF Debacle

Enough is enough. It's time for the replacement referees to go.

It was time for them to go three weeks ago, but after they cost the Green Bay Packers a win on Monday Night Football, commissioner Roger Goodell absolutely must facilitate an agreement between the NFL owners and the league's referees.

Otherwise, how many more games will be influenced or even decided by referees who aren't even qualified to officiate anything but the lowest levels of college football?

Like pretty much anyone else who loves the NFL, I'm absolutely infuriated by what transpired in the MNF game between the Packers and Seattle Seahawks. What could be more indicative of the absurdity we've endured than one referee signaling a touchback and the other a touchdown?

I'm glad you asked.

For one, there's the fact that the commissioner of the Lingerie Football League, Mitchell Mortaza, released a statement saying the league "chose to part ways with with a couple crews which apparently are now officiating in the NFL."

Ladies and gentlemen, several of the referees that are now employed by your beloved NFL weren't even deemed good enough to officiate LFL games. Just let that one soak in for a second.

But even after a horrific call made by terribly unqualified officials that cost the Green Bay Packers a win, the NFL has backed up the referees in this instance. Seriously, go ahead and read the league's statement for yourselves.

Be forewarned—it's a joke.

The fact that replay is allowed on simultaneous possession in the end zone (it isn't in the field of play) and was STILL called the way it was—and the NFL has backed up that call—only makes this farce even worse.

Of course it has—the NFL doesn't want to publicly lose any leverage in its negotiations with the real referees, even if it means completely abandoning the sport's credibility.

How can Goodell and the owners pretend like they have the league's integrity in mind and yet allow this sham with these replacement referees to continue? How can they say they have player safety in mind when we see illegal hits like the one that knocked Darrius Heyward-Bey out cold not even flagged?

And how many more four-hour games will I have to watch while the replacements confer endlessly over basic rulings? How many more near-brawls will occur after plays because the refs can't control the players?

I get paid to write about sports, so I don't have the option of simply boycotting these games and ignoring the happenings of the NFL. But if I did have that option, I would be done with the league after Monday night.

This is no longer the game I know, not with the chaos brought on by the replacements.

The only way the league will get the memo and bend to some of the requests of the real officials is if people stop watching, if the public stands up and says, "We won't allow you to keep tarnishing our beloved game."

Enough is enough.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets will never stand for fake Golden Tate touchdowns.