The NFL may have turned more of a blind eye than the officials behind the notorious non-call.
An ESPN bombshell report, citing league sources, indicated the NFL is concerned that four officials hailing from Southern California were able to preside over the NFC Championship last week _ and the abominable missed pass interference call that led to the Saints Super Bowl dream being crushed.
While the scathing piece cautions Roger Goodell and Co. don't fear biases befuddled the stripes' judgment, the league finds itself in a precarious position to negate any possibility of another scheduling error.
None of the Super Bowl 53 officials have hometown ties to either team, according to the report, so that's a start.
"The NFL put (itself) in a bad situation," one officiating source told the outlet. "This is stuff that has to be taken care of prior to game. It's just guys not thinking of what's going on, nobody doing their checks and balances. The league is usually pretty much on top of it. This is one that slipped through the cracks."
Lead official Bill Vinovich, who was heckled Thursday while working a basketball game over 1,000 miles away from the New Orleans catastrophe, lives in Newport Beach, R.I. (Strangely enough, fuming Los Angeles fans drew up a petition on Change.org to remove Vinovich from the title match, pointing to what was then an 0-8 Rams record under the ref's watch.)
Down judge Patrick Turner, tasked with following that infamous Nickell Robey-Coleman-Tommylee Lewis play, lives in Lakewood, a part of Los Angeles County.
Side judge Gart Cavaletto hails from Santa Barbara, while Back judge Todd Prukop, stationed in the endzone near the controversial play, lives in Mission Viejo.
