VP of officials defends ref that couldn't properly execute coin flip
On Tuesday, the NFL VP of officials Dean Blandino reiterated that the Packers-Cardinals overtime coin flip was legal while also supporting referee Clete Blakeman.
By
Ryan Wilson
•
1 min read
The NFL seems to have the market cornered on unintentional controversies. The latest: the non-flipping coin flip that preceded overtime of Saturday's Packers-Cardinals game. You can relive the magic below:
WTF? Did another coin flip? pic.twitter.com/xM3o8cKDia
— MarcusD (@_MarcusD_) January 17, 2016
That's referee Clete Blakeman, defying the laws of physics as he unsuccessfully tries to flip the coin. He was able to pull it off on the second attempt but not before Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took issue with the process.
"Clete had it on heads," Rodgers explained after the Cardinals won on the third play of overtime. "He was showing heads. So I called tails. And it didn't flip. It just tossed up in the air and did not turn over at all. It just landed on the ground. So obviously that was not right."
Rodgers said Blakeman hurriedly picked up the coin and flipped it again.
"He picked the coin up and flipped it to tails and then he flipped it without giving me a chance to give me a re-call there. It was confusing," the quarterback continued. "I think he was trying to avoid the embarrassment of what happened -- flip it quickly."
Here's the thing: According to the rules, Blakeman didn't need to flip it again.
"There is nothing in the rulebook that specifies this," the league said after the game. "But the referee used his judgment to determine that basic fairness dictated that the coin should flip for the toss to be valid. That is why he re-tossed the coin."
And on Tuesday, the NFL VP of Officials Dean Blandino reiterated that stance while also supporting Blakeman.
"I have not seen this before in any level of football where the coin didn't actually flip," Blandino told NFL Network. "And although the rulebook doesn't specifically state that it must rotate, I think common sense would dictate that the coin has to flip in order to have a coin toss. I thought Clete did the best job he could with what he had and common sense would dictate that he would flip it again."
That's exactly what Blakeman did. Rodgers wasn't crazy about the outcome (though we imagine he would've felt differently had the Packers won the toss), and three plays later, the game was over.
