NFL Referees Association pushes back against 'insulting' Chiefs conspiracy theories

One day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called theories of referees favoring the Kansas City Chiefs “ridiculous,” NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green agreed, called the idea that referees give the Kansas City Chiefs a favorable whistle “insulting” and

The NFL Referees Association released a statement Tuesday calling the notion that refs give the Kansas City Chiefs a favorable whistle “insulting.”

The statement comes a day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called the Chiefs conspiracy theories “ridiculous.” NFLRA executive director Scott Green agreed with Goodell in the statement posted to X by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, and tried to illustrate how difficult something like that would be to pull off.

“Officiating crews do not work the same team more than twice each regular season,” Green said. “It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.

Statement from NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green, who says: “It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team.” pic.twitter.com/jwPVqYkFWD

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 4, 2025

The statement went on to note how officials are graded on every play of every game, and how those grades determine postseason assignments.

While all of that stuff makes a scandal like the one being alleged incredibly unlikely, it wouldn’t be impossible. Refs have been approached about fixing games in the past, former VP of officiating Dean Blandino told Awful Announcing in 2023.

The idea that refs give the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes a favorable whistle isn’t new, as Kansas City gets set to play in its fifth Super Bowl of the last six years, but it did bubble up again after a controversial penalty against the Texans in the divisional playoffs. Green’s statement is likely meant to quiet some of that talk, but it won’t do much change people’s minds if more borderline calls go Kansas City’s way in the Super Bowl.