The NFL has been plagued by inconsistency with foul calls in 2016 and Josh Norman has had enough.
Following the Washington Redskins’ 27-27 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals in London on Sunday, Norman used a presser to put field judge Brad Freeman on blast. Norman took exception to the Redskins being penalized 15 times, five of which were committed by him – including four hands-to-the-face penalties. Washington was booked with an offensive pass interference penalty in OT, which helped lead to a draw.
“Who’s No. 88? He sucked. I’ll be honest with you, he was terrible,” Norman said, referring to Freeman’s number. “I feel some of the plays going on out there, I mean it was terrible.
“It’s just how I’m feeling and how the team feels right now. It needs to be watched and reprimanded. They reprimand us, so what’s the reprimand for them?”
Norman is no stranger to speaking his mind, calling out the NFL earlier this month for unfairly targeting his due to his massive five-year, $75 million contract. The 28-year-old cornerback might have a point in his post-game rant. Norman (5) was almost as penalized as the entire Bengals team (7). Sure, he needs to show more discipline but officials were very eager to throw out a flag on any close defensive play from Norman. However, it’s incredibly rare to see an NFL player call out a specific official by name (or number in this case) and it’ll be interesting to see if the league office has anything to say to Norman about it.
The biggest loser, after all is said and done, isn’t Washington or Cincinnati, it’s fans in London who paid to watch a penalty-filled tied. It wasn’t the best showcase for the NFL.
