# NFL Refs.... WTF???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833 "2001-12-04T14:52:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Mr.Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blonde)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/1 "2001-12-04T14:52:25Z")
Why do NFL refs have to throw their flags like projectiles 20 yards at the players? Isn’t it enough to throw them on the ground, call timeout, and march off the penalty? Why are these old farts doing this? And speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy from Cleveland that was almost blinded by that flag? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/2 "2001-12-04T15:03:30Z")
Probably to get the players’ attention so they can stop killing each other sooner. That and the Refs probably get caught-up in the excitement too. Besides, would you really expect them to just drop the flag at their feet? Now, if only the Refs can learn _when_ to throw the flags we’d be in business (anyone see the pass interference call against Chicago where the defender was at least two feet away from the receiver and not touching _at all_???). ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/3 "2001-12-04T15:14:35Z")
Oh. My. Gawd. That call blew bloody chucks of urine soaked rat feces. Oops. This isn’t the Pit. “Mr. Referee, I humbly wish to offer an alternative to your reality.” ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/4 "2001-12-04T15:43:36Z")
The refs are throwing the flag at the point of the foul. Just like they drop the beanbag on the yard-line of a received punt or kickoff… and just like they throw their hat at a point where a player steps out-of-bounds. The flag is thrown to mark where the infraction took place. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/5 "2001-12-04T15:56:08Z")
more importantly, why the hell are they running into receivers that are all alone in the endzone? jar ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Mr.Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blonde)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/6 "2001-12-04T16:08:35Z")
I know they throw it in the general direction of the foul, but why? And so what? I drop it at my feet and still call a holding, on number 78, and that is that. And just for you trivia wonks… that jackass that got in the way of Joe Horn and a sure touchdown was the same jackass who blew the overtime coin toss in the Steelers-Lions game a few years back. augh! ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/7 "2001-12-04T16:44:06Z")
Penalties can be assessed from the spot of the foul. They throw the flag to mark that spot. Sometimes, when the location doesn’t matter, they do just thrown the flag up into the air. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/8 "2001-12-04T17:05:00Z")
As I understand it, there is really no reason at all why they need to do this. Yes, they often throw it in the general direction of the foul, but this serves no purpose. The yellow flags aren’t officially used to mark the spot of the foul. Madden had a nice little rant about this a couple of weeks ago. Basically, the refs could just drop the flag to the ground when they see an infraction and nothing would be harmed. You would think they would have stopped this practice after nearly blinding that Browns tackle (what was his name?), but they haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/9 "2001-12-04T17:16:56Z")
Orlando “Zeus” Brown was unable to return to work after his eye injury and was forced to retire. I believe he at least got an apology from the league, though. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-refs-wtf/96833/10 "2001-12-04T18:54:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blonde \* > \*\*And just for you trivia wonks… that jackass that got in the way of Joe Horn and a sure touchdown was the same jackass who blew the overtime coin toss in the Steelers-Lions game a few years back. > \*\* Regarding the ill-fated Phil Luckett… I quote this from the _Los Angeles Times_ December 3, 2001 mini-article on Luckett’s incident last weekend, in which they summarized his other controversial incidents: > [@](#): > > During the coin flip, Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis appeared to call tails. But Luckett said Bettis called “heads-tails,” and Luckett went with the first thing he heard. The Lions got the ball and won the game. > > Steeler fans were outraged, until a Pittsburgh television station enhanced the audio of the tape a few days later and discovered that Bettis did indeed call “heads” first. This never got much attention nationally, I guess because it was too much fun to ridicule Luckett for the truth to get in the way. I’ll chime in with my support of the flag-marks-the-spot idea. Many infractions are penalized from the spot of the foul. Sure, it won’t mark the precise spot, but it can help the calling official remember which yard line it was near after the play has ended thirty yards away. Beanbags and hats are used the same way, as has been pointed out, for their own purposes.