Let’s Go Back to the Videotape : Professional football’s decision to end instant replay is a major fumble

The National Football League has voted to end its controversial use of instant replays to review questionable decisions made by game officials on the field. If ever a decision cried out for “further review,” this is it.

For those who don’t follow pro football, the use of television tape to provide an instant review of disputed plays began six years ago. It was adopted in reaction to fans’ complaints after questionable rulings by field officials affected the outcomes of some key games.

Ironically, some team owners who voted to scrap the long experiment said they did so because of fan complaints that instant replays were slowing games, which now average about three hours. Yet the NFL’s own statistics indicate that instant replay was used only about once per game over the six years, adding less than two minutes to a typical contest.

One suspects this rollback is more a result of complaints about a handful of incidents in which the use of instant replay tarnished the NFL’s highly polished image, like the replay that reversed a touchdown in last January’s Super Bowl.

Although NFL officials like to promote their game as fast-moving, the clock allows a full 45 seconds between plays. And you don’t hear team owners or TV network executives complaining about games being delayed for commercials.

In light of the fact that the NFL trumpets football as modern America’s favorite sport, one would think that team owners would spare no expense in an effort to make every referee’s call in every game exactly right. But they don’t. Even “slow,” tradition-bound baseball is smart enough to make its umpires full-time employees, unlike NFL referees.

Instant replay gives the NFL a modern technology that helps ensure games are as fair as possible to coaches and players and fans. It should remain in use.