Two NFL officials may have found themselves in hot water when video showed their actions following the Carolina Panthers’ 21-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7 on Sunday.
A video shot by a reporter showed two officials approaching Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans in the tunnel of Bank of America Stadium and asking him to sign something. According to NFL Media, the league was reviewing the incident involving those refs, who were identified as side judge Jeff Lamberth and line judge Tripp Sutter.
On Tuesday, the NFL provided an update and responded that the interaction did not involve an autograph request.
“After speaking with the individuals involved, we have confirmed that the postgame interaction between Jeff Lamberth, Tripp Sutter, and Mike Evans did not involve a request by the game officials for an autograph,” the NFL said in a statement.
Side judge Jeff Lamberth and Evans both went to Texas A&M and his number was being retrieved to pass along to a golf pro.
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This could’ve been really bad for the NFL. Next time, refs should probably wait or at least look around for cameras before doing something like this.
The Buccaneers fell to 3-4 on the year with the loss to the Panthers. Evans led the Bucs with nine receptions for 96 yards, although he did drop a touchdown in the first quarter.
