In an article by Scott Polacek, BleacherReport.com:
Plenty of sports fans across the United States of America have enjoyed the Wild Card Round of the 2016 NFL playoffs, but one presidential candidate has a particular complaint.
According to Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post, “Donald Trump says NFL referees throw flags to impress their wives watching at home. ‘It has become soft, and our country has become soft.'”
Trump made his comments during a campaign rally Sunday. Michael David Smith of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk added additional context:
“Who wants to watch these crummy games?” Trump said, adding that the NFL has outlawed “what used to be considered a great tackle, head-on and violent,” in the days of Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor and Ray Nitschke.
While it takes a questionable perspective to criticize an official for throwing a flag on an obvious penalty that injured a player in the open field, referees have been a major storyline all season. In fact, Chris Chase of USA Today wrote an article in November titled “How to fix the NFL’s horrible officiating†after a number of controversies.
