WATCH: This High School Ref Should Be Investigated And Likely Imprisoned After The Most Blatant Cheating You've Ever Seen
Uhhhhh what?! Does that ref know people can see him?
This insane display of referee ingenuity came during a New Jersey high school game between Vineland and Eastern on Thursday night. And after what clearly should have been a turnover on downs at a critical point in the fourth quarter, the head official moves BOTH the chain and the football in front of God and everybody to turn the play into a first down. I've never seen anything like it.
If Vineland's head coach didn't end up being arrested, he didn't react strongly enough. I'm not advocating for any sort of violence, but if that happens to your team, you have to make some kind of statement. Anyone on that sideline would have been completely justified in launching any item — water cooler, chair, clipboard, etc. — onto the field, provided it did not hit anyone. You have no choice but to make a scene here.
Even as I write this blog and watch the video over and over, I still can't believe it. The ball was two feet short! Hell, it may have been a full yard, but we don't even know because the referee starts yanking the chain backwards before the other official has even stretched it out completely. Unreal.
I can thankfully report that even with this insanity, Vineland rightfully won the football game 20-19. That should not preclude an investigation into whatever the hell happened on this play, however.