An NFL referee openly mocked Tua Tagovailoa during Sunday’s game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
Coming in, this outing was billed as one that would see two AFC titans square off. To say that dominance in the conference was at stake would be a bit of an overstatement, but it was definitely a crucial game.
The Chiefs got off hot a hot start, before ultimately allowing Miami to get back into it. When everything was said and done, due in no small part to blatant cheating in Kansas City’s favor by the NFL referees, Patrick Mahomes and Co. emerged with the win.
That said, one moment really stuck in the craw of Dolphins’ fans. It involved an NFL referee openly mocking the team’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, as the game was going on.
Midway through the third quarter with the Chiefs up by 21, Tagovailoa had a Chiefs player fall on him after he was down. When he made his plea to the nearest NFL referee in his general vicinity, the ref openly mocked him.
CRAZY: The head ref started laughing at Tua after he wanted a unnecessary roughness call against the #Chiefs
😳😳😳
(Via @man_uploads)
pic.twitter.com/IjsW3nlB7D— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 5, 2023
The difference in treatment when it comes to Tagovailoa versus other top tier quarterbacks is the league’s worst kept secret right now. For some reason officials refuse to give him any respect at all.
Fans at home have taken notice of this trend.
But when it’s Mahomes the whole field covered in flags
— Jay 𝕏 (@yojayguapo) November 5, 2023
Can you imagine what the reaction would be had it been Zach Wilson being laughed at by a ref? My goodness! 😂
— Deron (@deronsbasement) November 5, 2023
Referees has benn awful this year
— Cesar Charles (@cesarcharles) November 5, 2023
In a wild NFL weekend that saw a Philadelphia Eagles staffer sporting a thong on the sidelines and Joe Burrow’s girl cause a stir with her racy photos, nobody will care or remember about this sequence.
But it is worth wondering why that’s the case.
Alabama Cheerleader’s Photos Go Viral After Big LSU Win (Photos): https://t.co/YbbVh8ZupO
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 5, 2023
When other star quarterbacks get slighted by the officials in any capacity, it is a frontpage story.
When Tagovailoa gets openly mocked by an NFL referee, though? Barely anyone has or will blink an eye.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
