New Jersey State Senator Wants To Ban Replacement Referees

After witnessing the debacle that was last night's Packers-Seahawks game, New Jersey state senator Stephen Sweeney announced that he is planning to introduce legislation that will ban replacement officials from being used in professional sporting events, a move that is totally reasonable and definitely not an emotional reaction from Sweeney, who is a Packers fan.

More from Jarrett Renshaw of the Star-Ledger:

"This past weekend in the NFL has not only made a mockery of a great sport, but shined a very bright light on how important fully trained and professional officiating is to player safety," Sweeney said in a statement. "We wouldn't allow a factory or construction site to operate without fully trained supervisors on hand to ensure the safety of employees. Why should we do anything differently when the job site is a playing field?"

[...]

Sweeney said that replacement officials also lower the quality of play, devaluing the often large investments fans have made in tickets.

"Whether the sport is football, soccer or baseball, when referees don't know how to properly enforce the rules, there is a real chance for unnecessary and serious injury," said Sweeney. "If the NFL insists on putting replacement officials on the field, putting players at risk, then the state shouldn't be playing a part in that."

One might think that there are many more important issues that the New Jersey state senate should be spending its time worrying about. Then again, a different state legislator just introduced a bill called "Snookiville," so maybe there aren't?

Sen. Sweeney moves to block replacement refs from working in N.J. following blown call in Packers game [NJ.com]