Umpire Shows No Mercy

Yes, officials have the right to smack talk, too.

According to Trent Williams, offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins, an umpire directed obscenities his way during the first quarter of the Redskins-Eagles game yesterday.

According to Williams, the umpire told him that he was a "garbage-(expletive), disrespectful mother(expletive)."

Usually, we hear players direct their distaste towards referees. Those referees, given their discretionary freedom, can either shrug off the comment as they normally tend to do or penalize the player for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The players, of course, are restricted in this capacity. With each blue utterance by an NFL player, he's not only putting himself at risk for a flag tossed in his general direction, but he's are putting his team at risk, as well. This usually ranges from an on-field walkoff to a fine directed at that player's organization.

Harassing NFL referees has been an ongoing issue for decades and seems to have worsened with the so-called "divas" that currently reside within the NFL confines. It seems as though officials are being harrassed almost every play for either making a mistake, not throwing a flag, or not seeing something illegal taking place. You're talking about three hours of undeserved annoyance that officials have to deal with each and every time they step onto the gridiron.

The criticism officials absorb has got to be taxing, and this particular official -- if Trent Williams is truthful with his accusation -- took out his pent up irritation on Williams.

This probably happens a lot more than fans think.

I'm sure Trent Williams has been antagonizing opponents as well as referees for years, as most NFL athletes do. Although that's just an assumption, it looks like Williams is just playing the victim card here when he should be focusing his frustration elsewhere.

His Redskins are a putrid 3-7 this year and have underachieved tremendously after last season's success. Williams should be more concerned about his quarterback, who made a ridiculous decision that ultimately cost the Redskins an opportunity to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

Both the NFL or the NFLPA have better things to do than probe into the matter. If NFL players can talk trash, I think it's perfectly fine for a referee to blow off steam. If I was constantly being hounded by NFL players, I'd have probably done the same thing. As professional employees of the NFL, they surely try to contain their emotions, but people are people, and people usually have a breaking point. The official could have decided to just say, "shut up and play," but he allegedly said something a little more colorful.

Although what may have been said could be considered excessive, regardless of what was said, Trent Williams should just shut up and play.