Vikings Coach Brad Childress Fined For Speaking The Truth

Added on Oct 27, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

Roger Goodell’s thought police have struck again. The latest target in their campaign of silence is Vikings head coach Brad Childress, who has been docked $35,000 for criticizing the officiating crew that overturned a Visanthe Shiancoe touchdown during Sunday night’s loss to the Packers. Ironically, NFL VP of officials Carl Johnson apologized to Childress for the decision and said he was “disappointed that the call was reversed.” And the plot thickens.

Naturally, the NFL is none too happy that Childress trashed the refs and even more perturbed he elected to share his conversation with Johnson, which was supposed to remain strictly confidential. Hence the hefty fine. If there’s one thing the league cannot stand for, it’s the public airing of dirty laundry. Especially when said laundry has to do with obvious blown calls that affect the outcome of games.

One can hardly fault Childress for venting his frustrations. The Shiancoe touchdown, had it been allowed, would’ve given the Vikes a 21-14 lead at halftime, instead of a 17-14 margin. Hindsight is blah, blah, blah, but the Packers won by four, so it’s highly possible Minnesota could’ve been driving for a game-winning field goal rather than needing a touchdown as time expired.

The most aggravating part of this story is that the league admitted to getting it wrong and yet Childress is the one who got slapped with a fine. Since the NFL doesn’t divulge if and how it punishes officials, we’ll never know if the guilty crew was admonished for their error.

Replay was supposed to solve a lot of these issues, but it’s not a foolproof system. Mistakes will still be made. However, the play in question was ruled a touchdown on the field and the replay evidence was not conclusive enough to change the call, which is precisely why Childress lashed out in anger. It would be one thing if the VP of officials backed his guys, but he didn’t.

An apology after the fact doesn’t remove a check in the loss column. An apology won’t lessen the burden on Childress’s shoulders. An apology won’t help him keep his job when he’s evaluated at season’s end. Needless to say, things in Minnesota keep going from bad to worse.

Source: NFL.com