So this happened. In case you somehow haven’t heard already, the replacement refs blew the call at the end of Monday Night Football by awarding a touchdown to Golden Tate in place of a Green Bay interception. Even Jon Gruden’s disgusted.
The play in question (or is it still in question?), courtesy of KSK:
http://youtu.be/x-qiGyB6HzE
And the player reactions rolled in all night long.
WARNING: Some NSFW. Especially T.J. Lang. Work is NOT a place for T.J. Lang tweets.
NFL Players React to Golden Tainted Monday Night Football
As the replacement refs botched the call on the final play of Monday Night Football, NFL players from around the league weighed in with their take or their call to get the regular refs back. Some of the most heated criticism came from the Green Bay Packers players themselves.
Storified by Fantasy Football Fools· Tue, Sep 25 2012 17:22:28
Green Bay Packers React to Loss
Greg Jennings was probably the most composed Packer talking about the calls after the game. And it shows in his tweet.
#NFL C’MON MAN! Can’t even be upset anymore. All I can do is laugh. Laugh at the #NFL for allowing America’s game to come this. WOW!Greg Jennings
@NFL Cheap ass hell!! Get us some NFL REFS! Not PEE WEE league refs! But it’s all Abt the Saints!Jermichael Finley
Come on @NFL this shit is getting out of Control. Caused us a DAMN game. Horrible!Jermichael Finley
T.J. Lang was not so composed…
Got fucked by the refs.. Embarrassing. Thanks nflTJ Lang
Maybe that’s a strategy… RT @TomPelissero: This is awesome. RT @TJLang70: F–k it NFL.. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.
Any player/coach in Seattle that really thinks they won that game has zero integrity as a man and should be embarrassed.TJ Lang
No comprendo. :(Marshall Newhouse
Golden tate is full of shit too. Saying he clearly caught that is embarrassing! Fucking jokers!josh sitton
The nfl needs to come to gb and apologize to us for fucking us! These refs r bums!josh sitton
That was bullshit. This is getting ridiculous! The NFL needs to get the refs back bfr we strike and they make no money!josh sitton
Mike McCarthy: "I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years of football." #MNF #NFL
NFL Players Weigh In On Monday Night Football’s Blown Call
Drew Brees is one of the more outspoken players in the league on the ref issue, and he had some very well put tweets after the call was made.
I love this league and love the game of football, but tonight’s debacle hurts me greatly. This is NOT the league we’re supposed to representDrew Brees
Ironic that our league punishes those based on conduct detrimental. Whose CONDUCT is DETRIMENTAL now?Drew Brees
A fake Frank Gore account jumped into the spotlight as Monday Night Football took over Twitter, but at least this jokester’s 15 minutes left us with some good tweets…
If Golden Tate was still on ND, and me on the U, I’d go play safety and deck Lil’ Tate’s ass, ya know this! #49ersNot Frank Gore
NFL can fine me, too. I’ll wipe my butt with the money first! #RogerGoodellNot Frank Gore
There are a range of emotions in the rest of the NFL player tweets. Many were upset by the call. Some had no opinion or laughed it off rather than risk getting on the NFL’s bad side.
Man PLEASE tell me y’all heard Golden Tate’s interview?? When asked if he pushed off, Tate simply replied, "Idk what ur talking about" LMAO!Donte’ Stallworth
Lol… Dont affect me either way. Got love for my old teammates and homies, boys work hard out there but these refs are sad. PointblankTarvaris Jackson
I’ve been saying give the refs a break but that TD call was ridicules. How do you miss that? Pop Warner refs would have gotten that right.Tony Gonzalez
Drama. Great for business. Godspeed, Ed Hochuli.Arian Foster
Wow wow wow, crazy !!NickBarnett
I’ve been a football fan/player my entire life and never seen anything like this scene. #MNFGeoff Schwartz
Yeeeee! Score 1 for the Good Guys. Way to Go Stripes! Always good seeing a fellow WR get credit for a TD…….ON A INTERCEPTION. YesssStevie Johnson
Seattle u can’t feel good about tht win… Because y’all really lost… The refs give y’all the game…Nick Collins
I agree 100% RT @DavidNelson86: So much to say.. So little room in the pocketbook. #GoodnightKirk Morrison
Are you serious?Kirk Morrison
This is what the NFL has come down to, &yet they tell you to respect the shield! Lol. But they’ll try to fine us for everything thing we do.DARNELL DOCKETT
I mean damn! http://lockerz.com/s/247487166DARNELL DOCKETT
Wow. Smh!!!D.J. Williams
I just emailed the commissioner to say I am embarrass to be a former nfl player, after that @GaryEllerson @1250WSSPleroy butler
Wow. I don’t even know what to say right now. One ref signals Touchback and the other ref signals Touchdown?!Chase Daniel
That ish cray..Mark Ingram
I think the @NFL will bring back officials after @ESPNMondayNight #EmbarrassingThomas Morstead
Is the refs workin for the buffalo wild wings commercial?Perrish Cox
Looked like an interception to me.Sean Weatherspoon
Com’on can we please get the real refs back. Destroying the game that we all grew to love. WOW!!!!!!Patrick Peterson
Well we knew this was bound to happen but on Monday night football? Come on the replacement zebras aren’t fit for this zoo! LolDeAngelo Williams
How dare this not be rectified.. too much is at stake to have holes in such an elite leagueVisanthe Shiancoe
Geez. Why can’t they review that?Brent Celek
Oh wow. Can’t wait to see the backlash hereBrent Celek
Speechless after that…Robert Griffin III
I’m woke… WOW!Brandon Marshall
The regular referees are definitely cheering. #Leverage #BamBrandon Marshall
These refs gotta go I’m sorryReggie Bush
Refs single handedly blew this one…Reggie Bush
#Speechless….David Nelson
Former Cowboy Troy Aikman brought the hammer with just 5 words.
These games are a joke.Troy Aikman
The Aftermath of The Immaculate Deception
The official NFL account’s immediate reaction was not ideal…
Wow RT @Schottey: RT @njh287: Did the @NFL just re-tweet a tweet mocking their league’s officiating? http://twitpic.com/ay4167. Yes, they did.FantasyFootballFools
Since the game, the opinions around the NFL have solidified. The replacement refs got it wrong.
Golden Tate blatantly pushed off and M.D. Jennings intercepted the pass, according to two well-placed sources: my left and right eye.Adam Schefter
Rachel Nichols summed it up pretty well.
If there was ever an official photo of this whole replacement ref debacle, this is it http://pic.twitter.com/5eIGjRdRRachel Nichols
I mean when theyre showing snaps of it on the the weather channel u know something has to b doneVisanthe Shiancoe
Wait, Seahawks were the blue jerseys? #oopsNFL Replacement Ref
Lol! Funny http://lockerz.com/s/247659415Reggie Bush
This is your iconic moment, in which one official signals touchdown and the other, no touchdown http://30fram.es/QuKk3QTimothy Burke
As a footnote, even some NBA personalities weighed on Monday night…
Not gonna watch another nfl game until real refs r back. What a farceDirk Nowitzki
I would love to see what my reaction would be if a Mavs game ended like #MNF. #Expensive #NBAtimeMark Cuban
And thanks to BeyondTheBets.com, we get to see inside the sportsbooks as the final play went down. So much celebration…so many broken dreams.
The reaction on Twitter was obviously pretty incredible. Timothy Burke shared a video of the replacement ref conversation via Mocksession.com.
The NFL probably had no idea what to do with all the angry tweets, but they might have tried to get in on the conversation without thinking it through. Twitter followers captured this retweet from the official NFL Twitter account mocking the officiating.
Oh, NFL, where will we go from here?
The GIF of the theme of the night, Roger Goodell as Vince McMahon, via Texans Talk
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