Earlier today, we reported what appeared to be the NFL's latest conflict-of-interest debacle with its replacement refs. One side judge was pulled from the Week 2 New Orleans Saints-Carolina Panthers game for his public displays of Saints fandom, and it was revealed that the field judge in the Week 1 Arizona Cardinal-Seattle Seahawks game may have been paid by the Seahawks as a practice official in recent years.
Then, in an interview that must have had the league office passing out the Advil, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy said on Philly radio station 94WIP that one of the officials in the Eagles' Sunday win over the Baltimore Ravens told McCoy that he needed the running back for his fantasy football team.
"It was more like joking," McCoy told me on the phone Tuesday afternoon during an interview promoting BODYARMOR SuperDrink. "People blew it up into more than it was. It was definitely that.
"But I'll tell you what," he said with a laugh, "I wouldn't mind if [the officials] gave us some calls in some of those games for their fantasy teams."
In truth, McCoy is a bit less heavy on the subject of replacement officials than some have been. "There are times when players get frustrated, but to be honest, I think [the calls] have gone both ways. There have been bad calls for the opponents and bad calls for the Eagles, so it goes both ways, and it really matters who's playing ball."
Joking or not, we're hoping that the NFL will advise the official in question that any appearance of impropriety at a point where all replacement officials are taken to task at a forensic level isn't the best way to go.
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