The Kansas City Chiefs will compete for a third successive Super Bowl which has never been achieved before, and this dominance has led many to think that they could be cheating.
Whilst there has been no concrete evidence at all for any cheating from the Chiefs, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from turning and former NFL head of referees Dan Blandino has now shared his thoughts.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been on the receiving end of some beneficial refereeing calls during the regular season and into the playoffs, which has been the major source of anger for fans of rival teams.
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Speaking on the DA Show on Sirius Radio, Blandino said: “Look, the Chiefs have gotten the benefit of calls, right, but good teams make their own breaks – you think about the Patriots.
“My brother, who is convinced the league is rigged, that is convinced that I signed an NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreement] when I left the league office that I cannot tell anybody that it’s rigged because I was head of officiating.
“We grew up in the same household, by the way.”
Many set in their ways
He also explained that he has tried his best to convince his brother that there is no foul play going on, which has been a thankless task.
“I said, ‘Listen, there’s no conspiracy’. There’s too many variables, there’s too much going on. To me, it’s the hardest sport,” he said.
“When you think about football, with seven different officials, to say, ‘OK, I’m going to rig this game’ or ‘The game is rigged from the league office down.’
“The officials are just trying to get it right, and you can’t tell me the Chiefs have made seven straight AFC Championship games, they’re going to play for the three-peat, they’re going to play in four Super Bowls in six years, that it’s just because of the officiating.”