The Arizona Cardinals’ fate took a hard hit against the New York Giants. The team lost the game 36-24, but more than the loss, the disrespect made things worse. The exchange between Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and the official drew immediate scrutiny, leading the NFL to investigate the incident between McBride and line judge Jeff Seeman during Sunday’s game.
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“I was standing right there,” CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala said on X. “What’s wild is that it all started with Trey McBride saying ‘please’ when pleading his case for a PI flag. He was heated for sure, but I never heard a curse from him. The harshest he got was, “You’re ruining the game.”
Kinkhabwala’s account came in response to NFLPA Executive Director JC Tretter’s post on X.
“This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter said on X. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”
With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals faced 3rd-and-2. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a short pass toward tight end Trey McBride, but the pass fell incomplete. Giants defensive back Dru Phillips was covering McBride and made contact with him before the ball arrived.
However, the officials did not call either pass interference or illegal contact on Phillips. McBride appeared frustrated with the no-call and immediately questioned line judge Jeff Seeman about it. That conversation then turned into the exchange between McBride and Seeman that was later caught on camera.
Though inaudible, Seeman’s facial gestures appeared to form the words “F– you.”
The NFL has dealt with a similar situation before. In 2012, referee Tony Corrente was fined a full game check after he used profanity during a game between the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. The incident happened on November 4, when Corrente accidentally left his microphone on while talking to other officials during the fourth quarter. His comments were clearly heard by the television audience and fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The NFL announced the punishment on November 16 that year, with then-vice president of officiating Carl Johnson issuing the fine. The league said Corrente’s use of obscene language was inappropriate for an official, even though the microphone being left on was an accident.
Now, it will be interesting to see what NFL officials do regarding Cardinals tight end Trey McBride’s incident with the official.