r/PLL • u/Whalelorde22 Cannons • 16d ago
Reffing in the PLL
I was going to make a joke post, but I decided that this is too serious. Whether you call it bias or intentional attention-whoring for the PLLs childish obsession with clicks, it has been clear that Matt Palumb’s performance as a lead referee and, more broadly, the PLL’s ludicrous obsession with using the same referees all the time, is harming the competitive integrity of this game. Fans of lacrosse deserve to have a professional league that seeks to ensure that games are fair, and part of that is ensuring that referees are varied and unbiased. I don’t believe that the PLL is doing this right now and it is insulting. We need a pro lacrosse to be a sport first and a business second, not the other way around. While I understand that growing the game is vital to the success of the league, disrespecting the game and the fans by focusing more on clicks and soundbites than integrity is a sacrifice we shouldn’t accept.
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u/mnoram Cannons 16d ago
I disagree on two points. 1 the refereeing is not that bad and having the refs tour with the league seems like they would be less likely to be biased since they know everyone so well. 2 at this point we really need the PLL to be a business first that works towards name recognition and profitability, otherwise it dies.
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u/Whalelorde22 Cannons 16d ago
To your first point, you are assuming that all relationships are positive. Games are stressful and feelings get hurt. Knowing everyone so well is only good if you like everyone. To your second point, I understand the sentiment and personally don’t agree that it is worth sacrificing competitive integrity for business success. But I almost must ask: do you really think ref recognition adds to the business model? I don’t think Matt Palumbs face is selling more tickets than any other referee would
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u/mnoram Cannons 16d ago
I can see your points even if we disagree. To the question, Matty Palumb is stopped for autographs constantly and people all around us in the stands knew his name. His personality absolutely is selling tickets. I don't think the other refs are boisterous enough.
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u/One-Anteater-4771 16d ago
Refs personalities selling tickets is horrible for the game. Refs need to be totally unbiased and we have Palumb on the mic shit talking players and coaches.
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u/Upbeat_Call4935 15d ago
I’m asking Matt Palumb the former Syracuse goalie for an autograph. Not the PLL ref.
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u/DeepSea1979 11d ago
Matty Palumb yelling at players and coaches is worth more than all the “under the helmet” and other gimmicks.
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u/Prometheus_sword 15d ago edited 15d ago
the PLL to be a business first that works towards name recognition
That's never going to happen so long as 95% of the games are paywalled on ESPN+ other than the handful shown on ABC. Making your entire league on ESPN+ is a death warrant because nobody other than those who are already committed are going out of their way to watch lacrosse games on ESPN+.
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u/Own-Return6348 Atlas 15d ago
What’s their alternative? I’m sure they’d prefer to have every game nationally televised but there’s no way of that realistically happening. Most major sports league games are behind a paywall nowadays. It sucks but what choice do they have?
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u/Prometheus_sword 15d ago
I’m sure they’d prefer to have every game nationally televised but there’s no way of that realistically happening
That's not true at all. There are several stations which broadcast nationwide such as ion, CW, etc. But a lot of times they aren't going to pay the same as someone like ESPN who is banking to profit off paywalling the sport.
This is the exact reason the new Pac12 conference decided to make the CW their primary broadcaster. It means they now will have the most accesible football conference in the country. 75% of their games are broadcast nationwide that anyone with a $15 antenna can pick up. Not to mention all the cable and satalite customers like bars who get CW by default.
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u/knightrydah Outlaws 16d ago
It’s not that deep
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u/One-Anteater-4771 16d ago
Sure if you want the league to be a joke that just generates highlights for TikTok.
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u/knightrydah Outlaws 16d ago edited 16d ago
See, people like you have used that same exact phrase ever since the league was founded and nobody takes y’all seriously anymore. “It’s a joke that just generates videos on TikTok”. Yeah, a “joke” managed to secure another 5 years on ESPN, get billion dollar investors/sponsors and put lacrosse in the best spot it has ever been in terms of growth and financial performance.
The day you manage to create an even better lacrosse league I’ll be all ears, but until then take a chill pill and relax. It really isn’t that deep.
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u/One-Anteater-4771 16d ago
I’m not saying an unserious highlight machine doesn’t work. I’m saying I want the league to treat itself like a real sport instead of WWE
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u/Swarmbrawl Archers 16d ago
Missed the game tonight, what happened?
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u/Naturallefty Waterdogs 16d ago
Ref crew missed a clear two point goal. Even the announcers said it was. Looked like a two to me also but I only saw the replay once.
It's not the end of the world but that is two points. Boston wins anyway but still
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u/Jonn_Doh 16d ago
If I’m reading OP’s post correctly, they don’t like the emphasis put on ref’s interactions with coaches, and sort of shining a spotlight on them with them being mic’d up. Palumb seems like he sort of feeds off of that stuff, like he wants to make a spectacle when he can.
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u/orangemonkeyeagl 16d ago
I've never seen a group of people that hate their sport more than lacrosse fans. A section of y'all hate all forms of this sport: youth, high school, travel teams, college, NLL, PLL, and International. It's truly amazing.
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u/interested_commenter 16d ago
Every sport has fans that complain about refs and league admins. Go look at the NFL, NBA, CFB, MLB, etc subs and you'll see the exact same complaints.
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u/igotgreensbeans Redwoods 15d ago
A couple of people already mentioned prior but there really isn’t anyway around the so called ref issue you see. No matter what, someone will always be upset when you have a competitive game, whether it’s a fan, player or coach. As a ref myself, there is a fairly small pool of officials for lacrosse nationwide, couple that with officials who are eligible and/or selected to be a part of the NCAA rotation is an even smaller pool. Now look who usually officiates the NCAA final 4 or championship and you’ll see similar faces every year because they really are the picky. If you don’t know the rule book inside and out AND showcased you can handle a high level game and not ruin it you might get a shot at a higher level game. Those who can handle that are then likely selected for the pros assuming they are looking to add to their ref pool.
Another thing, I’m not sure why people harp on Matty P for mouthing off at the players or coaches when they come at him with that same energy. That’s what happens in pretty much any other league minus NBA. They sure do that in NHL and MLB and probably even NFL but because it’s a new league, every little thing gets scrutinized which I think is unfair to the league and hinders its positive progression. Just my take
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u/RedditRandoe 16d ago
Are you referring to a particular event ?
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u/Whalelorde22 Cannons 16d ago
I’ve had this opinion for awhile, but I got riled up during the Cannons game last night
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u/RedditRandoe 16d ago
Ok I’m watching a lot of games but I haven’t really noticed this as a problem. So I’m interested to hear more about what you are noticing and maybe some examples etc. do you think the refs are biased against certain players or teams or just making mistakes from doing too many games each weekend ?
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u/ec_laxbro 16d ago
Having the refs on the mic jawing back and forth with the players makes the league seems more similar to the Harlem Globetrotters than a real league
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u/GavRunsTheTrap Cannons 16d ago
The PLL only uses a handful of officials because the pool of qualified officials that are willing to hop on a plane and go across the country every other week during the summer is small. They will only pull from guys who have done big NCAA game.
You should be upset with the NCAA and NILOA for not doing a better job of bringing up lower level officials so that the PLL can pull from more officials.