President Barack Obama is weighing in on last night’s disputed end to the Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks football game, saying it’s time to resolve a labor dispute and get regular referees back to officiating NFL games.
The Seahawks won 14-12 after replacement referees ruled a Seattle receiver caught the ball amid a pile of players in the end zone in the game’s last play. The NFL conceded the bad call today, but upheld the Seattle victory.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One that the president, an avid sports fan, watched the game and “thinks there was a real problem with that call.”
Obama personally tweeted about it this afternoon:
Even union-busting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted his support for the regular refs, who are unionized.
Green Bay is located in the battleground state of Wisconsin, adding significance to Obama’s stance.
It’s also the home state of GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, another union buster who calls for the unionized refs to return, but also used the controversy to take cheap shots at the president during a rally in Ohio:
“You know, it reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can’t get it right, it’s time to get out,” Ryan said. “I have think that these refs work part time for President Obama in the budget office!”
For the full audience reaction to Ryan’s “joke,” click the arrow:
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