https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/will-reichards-agent-says-someone-at-league-office-told-him-london-kick-hit-wire
The NFL’s sensitivity to the possibility that a field goal struck a cable in London has given what was a footnote significant traction.
Kalyn Kahler and Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com have taken a closer look at the aftermath of a Week 5 field goal attempt by Vikings kicker Will Reichard that seemed to strike a Skycam cable.
The story was dead until Al Michaels mentioned it last Thursday, during the Prime Video broadcast of the Vikings-Chargers game. Per the report, a league spokesperson explained that NFL officiating and rules analyst Walt Anderson called Amazon Prime rules analyst Terry McAulay to advise him of the NFL’s official position — that the ball did not hit a wire.
Michaels later explained during the game that the league regards the video of the kick apparently striking the cable as an “optical illusion.”
But there’s more to the story. Reichard told ESPN.com that his agent, Jim Ivler, contacted the league office and asked to have the miss removed from Reichard’s official statistics. The league, per Reichard, told Ivler that the ball hit the wire.
“I guess they at first said that they would [change the statistic] and then came back the next day and said they couldn’t,” Reichard told ESPN.com. “But they admitted to it hitting. Take that for what it’s worth.”
Ivler confirmed to ESPN.com that someone from the league office initially admitted that the ball hit the wire and that the official statistics would be changed. The person (whom Ivler declined to name) later said that the adjustment could not be made.
The league provided ESPN.com with a statement explaining that the ball did not hit the cable. The NFL declined to comment on the claim from Reichard and Ivler that someone had admitted that the kick had made contact with a wire and had agreed to make the statistical change.
Per the report, the league included the play in a presentation last week to owners. The league sent ESPN.com the video that was shown to ownership.
It’s still not clear what happened. What is clear is that the league failed to be proactive about the situation, issuing no official statement of any kind until Michaels mentioned the incident during a game nearly three weeks later.
In situations like this, the NFL needs to embrace transparency. The longer it waits to provide its version, the more inherently suspicious the media and general public will be when the NFL shows up with a hose — after the fire has gone out.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/will-reichards-agent-says-someone-at-league-office-told-him-london-kick-hit-wire
