The Nick Barnett thing.
 

I have a question... during the Bears Packer game one of the officials was draging Nick Barnette out of a pile by his throat. Barnett pushed him away. The NFL did not levy any fine or punishment to Barnett.

1. Is it bad form by the Ref to get in a scrum like that?

2. Should Barnett have been suspended??


I'm a basketball ref, so I wanted the opinion of some seasoned football guys. ;)

I think Barnett is doing his job by trying to stop a fight. No way should he be fined or suspended!

Barnett was none too pleased about it.

I wanted to know what Quirk had on his hat brim - was it an ump cam? FOX didn't use it, so was it an NFL Films thing? Or was it something else?

Guys, becareful what you do at certain levels.

At the high school level, I won't even touch a kid to help him snap up his chin strap.

We should all be careful about touching players. I don't think it's ever a good idea to grab a player around the neck. Jim Quirk was warned that he should refrain from that type of restraint in the future.

As for Barnett, I think he's more embarassed that he was taken down by a 67 year old man.

And now, he HAS been fined for the takedown...
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3171273

The NFL has fined official Jim Quirk a game check -- $8,150 -- for inappropriate contact with Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett on Sunday.

Quirk was summoned to NFL offices Friday to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL senior vice president of football operations Ray Anderson. In determining the penalty, the league took into account previous incidents, including Quirk's contact Dec. 16 with Atlanta Falcons fullback Jason Snelling on a kickoff return.

The NFL has informed Barnett and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy of their actions. Barnett's agent, who had planned to file a grievance with the NFL over Quirk's behavior, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, "This action is more than satisfactory. There is now no reason to pursue a grievance."

Quirk aggressively grabbed Barnett around the neck and pulled him to the ground during Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. McCarthy was critical of Quirk following the incident.

"I'll tell you what, I've never seen anything like that in all my years," McCarthy said. "I didn't see the whole thing but I thought the official was totally out of line the way he grabbed Nick around the neck and pulled him out of there.

"There was a lot going on throughout the game on both sides of the ball after the play was over. Their offensive line was getting after Nick a bunch down the stretch. And that goes on in these types of games. I didn't see all of it but I saw the end of it. I thought it was totally unprofessional. I thought it was totally out of hand," McCarthy said.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has said McCarthy would not be disciplined for his remarks.

I don't think the officials should get involved with a fight. Just stand back and write down numbers and eject accordingly. But, the NFL wants the officials to break up those scrums but apparently not the way the Umpire did.

Not too long ago there was a discussion about the Ravens and the percentage of their salaries that they were fined. I wonder how the percent of the salary that was fined for the players compares to what percent of his salary that the official was fined. Maybe someone can get the numbers and do the math.

EDIT: I read the article and it says that the official was fined a full game fee. I assume that means it is 1/17 of his salary, assuming he works a game each week of the season.

So the official was fined 5.88% of his salary, while the payers were fined either 0.33% or 0.5%. Was the officials actions almost 18 times worse than the player who got fine 0.33% of his salary?

16 game season
 

NFL officials have a bye week, so that just bolsters your percentage argument.

1/16 = 6.25%

However, officials' expected level of professionalism should be higher than players and coaches in my opinion.

Still, 6.25% is a considerable chunk, but it is 6.25% of a much smaller salary, the dollar amount is much smaller, and part-time officials are expected to have some other form of income.

I recall the NFL issuing fines based on dollars and not game checks most often. If fines were always issued on a game check or percentage basis, the deterrent would be less effective for the less compensated individuals.

If a player spits at an official :p and an official returns fire :p (I would hope not), how would we fine each? Even dollar figures? Even percentage? Progressive or regressive scale? I think the current fines are about right to provide the proper deterrent for the actions involved (taking into account individual histories).

At my level I certainly need another form of income, but if NFL guys are making $8,150, I don't know that I'd necessarily need another job. I'm think 130k a year for "16 days" worth of work is a nice deal. I do put the 16 days in " " because I realize at the NFL level those guys have a bunch of other things that are part of the job (meetings, scouting, staying in tip-top shape, etc), but still its not a bad living. They may have more pressure to make sure they make the right calls, but unlike most of us HS officials there are many things they don't have to worry about (nutjob coachs, wrong ball plays, poor timekeepers, crappy field conditions unless you're reffing a Steelers home game, etc.).

NFL officials begin meetings in March and they put in lots of time prior to the season. I have no problem with the salary that they make. They are expected to be perfect while being subjected to pressure and abuse constantly. If you talk to them about their experience, it is considerable. One guy I know started with JHS, then HS, then D-III, D-II, D-I Big Ten, NFL-Europe, etc. They don't start at the top and I question how good an official can be if he makes quick jumps to higher levels.

There was discussion several years ago about making them full-time. It was determined that the NFL couldn't afford to pay them their salary plus what they make in their regular jobs so they dropped the idea. Also, an NFL official told me that with all the time that they put in during the off-season and during their season, that there wasn't really any more preparation and training that they could do.

Well you are a little off if you think they only work 16 days, infact thats is way off. Also, Jim Quirk is in the highest pay bracket.

Doesn't work.

Sorry. I copied from the original posted (and shortened) link.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins...8/drz_insider/