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I couldn’t help but wonder why Dave McKenna (Cheap Seats, “Whistling While They Work,” 8/31) didn’t discuss the argument that one reason NFL referees are not paid as much as referees in other sports is that they don’t have to work as much. The NFL season is 16 games for each team (not counting the playoffs). Baseball, hockey, and basketball seasons are much longerwhich, I am assuming, also means that the referees in those sports have to work many more games and have to deal with much more travel. By not addressing this point, McKenna’s discussion seems incomplete and one-sided. The NFL refs may very well deserve some sort of pay increase, and if they do, I hope they get it. Just wanted to point out that McKenna seemed to be following Tagliabue’s lead by painting what appears to be an incomplete picture.
One recent McKenna column (“Guilt by Association,” 8/24) I did love was the comparison of the present owners of the Redskins and Orioles (Snyder and Angelos) and their common modus operandi of overpaying high-profile veterans past their prime (Deion Sanders and Albert Belle, respectively), mistreating their teams’ beloved veterans (Darrell Green and Cal Ripken, respectively), screwing their fans, and generally degrading the quality of their organizations.
Alexandria, Va.