The infamous tush push, mastered by the Philadelphia Eagles, has both supporters and critics. If there’s one thing both parties agree on, it’s the inconsistent officiating. As tensions rise over whether the play will be banned, attention shifts to the league, which faces harsh criticism.

Many have been vocal in criticizing the officials over the ‘Tush Push.’ “But eight weeks into this season, the thing that might actually kill the tush push is the league’s inability to officiate it properly,” said Dianna Russini, in her latest report. Along with that, she shared the views of a high-ranking league source, who called out those mistakes.

“How embarrassing for the league to say we have to take away a totally legal play,” the executive reportedly said. “Because we’re not good enough to officiate it.”

The play almost got banned last offseason. With the support of 16 teams, the Green Bay Packers submitted the proposal. It required 24 votes to be passed. However, it fell short of 2 votes. And the source expects that there can be another discussion next offseason.

Commissioner Roger Goodell also seemingly hinted at a potential discussion. “It’s not something we’re focused on in the season,” Goodell told Jonathan Jones when asked about the play. “We’ll monitor it.”

So, while the play will be legal this season, the debate might be raised again. Now, neither any official statement from the league nor commissioner Roger Goodell has mentioned that the league can’t officiate the play. But analysts have been very clear that this isn’t an easy play to officiate, with officials making quite a few mistakes, such as missed false starts.

Something similar happened in the Eagles’ first game against the New York Giants. The officials missed subtle movements. There was another instance in their rematch. Defender Kayvon Thibodeaux forced a fumble from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he dove for a first down, but officials ruled it forward progress, wiping out what could have been a turnover.

Back in September, Russini shared a head coach’s concerns. “It’s getting very sloppy and officials can’t officiate it,” the coach said. “They have to make sure no one is in the neutral zone and that no one moves before the ball. There are just a lot of missed calls on the play.”

In response to the concerns, the league urged the officials to officiate “tight” to avoid such slips. However, the growing number of mistakes around the play has forced many to consider advocating for a ban. That includes former Eagles player Jason Kelce. But he pointed out a different issue with the officiating.

Jason Kelce addressed the issue with the tush push

Kelce didn’t hesitate to call out the issue with officiating. He added that if the officials are unable to officiate it, that’s a solid reason for the play to be banned. “If they can’t officiate it properly, that would certainly be a reason to ban it,” Kelce said in a conversation with USA TODAY Sports. “That’s the reality of it.”

He stressed that the false starts are a major issue and understands the growing frustration over the Eagles getting an advantage due to the bad calls. However, Kelce also pointed out that he rarely sees officials struggling to officiate the tush push plays for other teams.

“But I also haven’t seen the struggling to officiate it with other teams running it,” he said. That opens up a new debate. “The Eagles aren’t the only team that run it, but very coincidentally I often see only the Eagles being brought up online. I think that probably has more to do with the Eagles being better at it than anyone else.”

While the “tush push” remains legal for now, it’s clear the debate is far from over. Player safety concerns have yet to be backed by data, but officiating inconsistencies continue to fuel frustration across the league. Whether the NFL ultimately bans or refines the play, expect it to resurface as one of the most closely watched rule discussions of the offseason.