NFL Fires Official Midseason
This article is from NBC Sports titled “NFL fires official Hugo Cruz, who missed false start in Charges-Browns”. This short but good article is written by Michael David Smith and addresses the Grand Challenges of ‘Understanding the American Experience’ as it is concerned with America’s Game. This story is about the firing of NFL official Hugo Cruz who missed a blatant call during the Chargers-Browns game. This missed call turned the tide because a touchdown was scored on the play that should have never happened. This firing is crucial news in the sports world for a few different reasons. First off, this firing is the first of its kind in over half a century. Officials are usually evaluated on their performance after the season but for an official to be fired midseason, things must have been terrible. Secondly, this firing is in the midst of a lot of criticism that has been being given out towards officials and league offices due to referring that has changed games in crucial ways this season, and sometimes even dictating the winner of the game.
This article raises many questions in the sports world that are definitely relevant to a Physical Education class, as we are always concerning ourselves with the sporting world. There has been so much scrutiny dished out towards officials thus far in the season in the NFL. And not all of the scrutiny has been completely at the officials but also towards the league offices for their rule changes and interpretations of the rules. There has been a lot of confusion amongst players, coaches, and officials. So, with this firing, is the NFL trying to clean up some of its referring crews to appease players, coaches, and fans? How much more should we expect to come, because plenty more problems continue to arise. Football is a major money producer and is considered to be “America’s Game”. With having so much frustration being made due to poor officiating and other obstacles that have been rising over the years, there has been a slight decrease in NFL revenue. Is the league feeling the heat now and trying to make changes?
A strategy I think I would use for this article would be the ‘KWL’ method because it would help my students think critically before, during, and after the reading. I also think by using this method it would help create a discussion amongst regarding anything that aren’t sure about. I think this strategy would be very beneficial as well because the knowledge of my students regarding this specific topic or even football as a whole will vary. Some students may not enjoy football like others, but I do believe it is important to expand on your knowledge on all sports because you may find something with it to connect to and help create a better life for yourself and others. Ultimately, this lesson would involve a quick overview of the NFL and the season so far with the problems it has faced. After this short discussion the students will read the brief article and it will set the class up for the overall discussion. This overall discussion will dive deeper into thoughts, opinions, and questions. This will be a great discussion and introduction into the world of football before we start our flag football unit.
This news story would fall under the following health enhancement content standards:
3. Research the history and origin of various games, sports, and dance, including those of traditional and contemporary American Indian cultures;
17. Apply rules and etiquette by acting as an official during modified games, dance and rhythm
