By far the thing that is most complained about in sports is refereeing issues. Wrong or missed calls can make or break a season, and that doesn’t need to be the case. There is technology available capable of eliminating the human error that comes with refs, but leagues are choosing not to implement technology based systems into their games.
Sports like golf, tennis, and soccer use a combination of technology paired with officials, and it works very well. But when it comes to the NBA and NFL, the way calls are made has become a widely known and discussed issue. So, I am going to walk through what these two leagues can do to fix these problems, starting with the NBA:
NBA – Taking Full Advantage of the Replay System, Adding Hawk-Eye and FIFA Tech
The NBA has been under fire since the wild end to the Celtics-Lakers game on Saturday night. At the end of regulation, Lebron drove to the hoop looking to score a game winning layup, but but was stopped when Jayson Tatum blatantly slapped his shooting arm and received no foul.
Since there was no call, the Lakers were unable to challenge the play. Along with the bad call, we got the best Lebron temper tantrum ever:
If the NBA gave teams opportunities to challenge fouls that weren’t called, even if it were only allowed in the final two minutes of a game, most of what people complain about would be fixed. Sure, you hear about bad calls in the middle of a game, but it’s only the missed calls in the final minutes that are thought of as “ruining” a match. If teams are allowed to challenge with the full use of the replay system, these issues would vanish.
The other change that the NBA can put into effect is adding the Hawk-Eye and FIFA offsides technology systems, which are used in professional tennis and soccer. This would solve incorrect out of bounds and goaltending rulings, as well as tell whether shots at the buzzer leave the player’s hand before the clock runs out.
Now, let’s get into what FIFA tech is, and what the NFL an do to fix their refereeing issues:
What is FIFA’s new technology?
This past world cup, FIFA started using new system that they named “semi-automated offside technology”. This tech uses 12 cameras positioned at the top of the stadium that track players movements and positioning on field, including their limbs.
FIFA also added a inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor to the inside of their ball which collects and sends data 500 times per second. The combination of these two tools has lead to perfect offsides rulings, with no need for a ref besides to deliver the call.
NFL – Using FIFA tech, allowing challenges on more plays
These tools could be extremely useful for the NFL, but in order to implement them, the hardest part would be redesigning the chip that’s inside the ball. It may come as a shock, but the NFL football already has a chip in it. However, the only thing that they use the chip for is to get info on players’ top speed and loose positioning data.
The current chip is located just under the skin of the ball, and isn’t accurate enough to help make rulings on plays. FIFA uses a different chip though, and it is positioned in the center of the ball and is extremely accurate. The NFL would have to redesign their ball to allow placement of the chip in it’s core, as well as make the chip capable of telling which way the ball faces, since a football is not circular like a soccer ball.
Another thing the NFL can do is allow challenges on no calls, similar to what I suggested for the NBA. There are simply too many cases where blatant holds and pass interferences happen, but no penalties are issued. Why have all these fancy camera angles if you only use them for TV replays?
These changes would provide ultra accurate rulings on goal line touchdowns, offsides/false starts, catches vs drops, pass interferences, and much much more. So why the NFL hasn’t started using them, we may never know, but I hope to see them in games soon.
Final thoughts
Some people enjoy the old school aspect of humans making rulings instead of computers. For example, the NFL’s “chain gang” is something that I hope never changes. It is a great way of providing suspense before knowing whether your team got a first down or not, and it would be hard for a technology based system to replicate that feeling.
If the NBA and NFL choose to stay old school and stick to human referees, the refs should be held accountable for their actions. Bonuses could be put in place to award good calls, and fines could be issued when bad calls happen. Not only would this make refs better at their jobs, it would also make their profession higher paying and more competitive. It would be cool to see refs become “pros” in their own right, where only the best at their jobs get to ref the biggest games.
I’m sure that I missed some things, so let me know your thoughts in the comments!