It’s hard to remember sometimes, but the human element often comes into play when it comes to NFL officiating. We saw a delightful episode of this with referee John Hussey, who led the crew working the battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns Sunday.
Late in the first quarter, the Browns were called for a facemask on a kickoff return. There was just one problem: It looked like San Francisco player Ambry Thomas was the one who actually committed the facemask infraction. This was a significant point of contention for Fox announcers Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, who couldn’t believe Cleveland was being called for the penalty.
Burkhardt and Olsen debated so much, only to eventually be cut off by Hussey, who quickly corrected his penalty call to be on Thomas and the 49ers. The announcing duo thought this was hilarious:
Referee John Hussey's correction announcement on a penalty got a good laugh out of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen pic.twitter.com/e5HxCmOsUo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 15, 2023
This is what you get with the human element. Sometimes, you might have a brain fart on your initial penalty announcement. Kudos to Burkhardt and Olsen for showing a good sense of humor about it on air.
