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The NFL is Looking into A.I. to Help Refs Officiate the Tush Push and More
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
Roger Goodell mentioned to reporters today that the NFL is looking into how AI can help NFL officiating:
Ref: *uploading video to ChatGPT* “Was this is a catch?”
ChatGPT: *blows up*
I’m not opposed to AI helping referees officiate. We’ve already seen it implemented with the Hawk-Eye technology measurements and it looks like the chain gang and the robots have been able to coexist. But if we can speed up reviews, better replay, and automating out of bounds sign me up. We’re never going to figure out what a catch is whether you’re a human or a quantum computer. I don’t want an AI dealing with penalty detection or anything like that. I don’t need a Giants fan coding some algorithm that makes a stupid robot call more holds on the Eagles. But when the Tush Push debate was at its peak back in Week 2 and Dean Blandino was throwing fits on national television the funniest argument for getting rid of the Tush Push was that it was too hard for referees to officiate. Like referees in the NFL have an infallible record. All you had to do was watch a week of football to understand referees still don’t know how to officiate pass interference and roughing the passer let alone the Tush Push:
So bring on all the AI you want refs still won’t be perfect and we’ll still hate them. But IMO, this is the only robot that should be in football for now:
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com