If you think getting fired as a referee for the Lingerie Football League means you’ve lost the best job imaginable, have no fear — you can always get a job officiating NFL games.
The LFL had been keeping silent about the replacement referees in the NFL until early Tuesday morning.
In August, Deadspin reached out to the league for comment about a rumor that some of the refs had been fired. After the controversial Packers versus Seahawks outcome Monday night, the league responded and took the opportunity to jab the NFL as well:
“Because of the LFL’s perception it is that much more critical for us to hire officiating crews that are competent, not only for the credibility of our game but to keep our athletes safer. Due to several on-field incompetent officiating we chose to part ways with with a couple crews which apparently are now officiating in the NFL. We have a lot of respect for our officials but we felt the officiating was not in line with our expectations.
The statement continued: “We have not made public comment to date because we felt it was not our place to do so. However in light of tonight’s event, we felt it was only fair that NFL fans knew the truth as to who are officiating these games.”
The all-female Lingerie Football League was founded in 2009 and is based in Las Vegas. It is 7-on-7, full-contact tackle football played indoors on a 50-yard field. There are twelve teams in the league, including the Philadelphia Passion, Chicago Bliss and Cleveland Crush. The uniforms consist of lingerie with some safety pads and hockey-style helmets.