There's Rule #95 Again

Not all that long ago I spoke about referees not violating Rule #95 to Never Lift Your Bike Over Your Head. This was in reference to a call that two NFL officials openly celebrated during play and were incorrectly chastised for it.

This time however, the NFL official who foolishly chose to lift his bike over his head has earned the ridicule he is getting for it. Enter Mark Baltz.

Photo Courtesy LarryBrownSports.com

Mr. Baltz recently went onto a sports program and stated how he was always suspicious of Jim McNally, one of the locker room attendants related to #deflategate. He continued by saying that he visited New England 10 - 15 times and the conduct was so strange he reported same to the NFL.

Now the reality is very different than the story shared by Mr. Baltz where he was apparently in New England (3) times for a Brady game and there was no report filed to the NFL, per the NFL themselves.

So what the heck is going on here?

Constructed in a way most favorable to Mr. Baltz, maybe he just forgot how many times he was in New England ... heck I have lost count with the number of times I have been in particular stadiums.

The report to the NFL? Maybe he legitimately told someone and expected it to be filed. I could almost see that in some cases.

That said, while these may be a stretch, one thing is not, that Mr. Baltz intentionally put himself in the "line of fire" by agreeing to answer any questions of the type in the first place and detail his experiences for no other reason than to fan the flames of a recent controversy.

In short, he wanted his 15 minutes of fame and he lifted his bike over his head.

Only problem is, he has either been caught lying through his teeth or was so out of touch with the facts as to be not believable. I am not sure which, and I am not asking either.

Please, lets leave the playing to the players. If Mr. Baltz did indeed have questions or concerns, leave it between the referee and the league. Why is there a need to "tell all" in a hyped story?

Ultimately it has disgraced him and the craft we all share.

Your 15 minutes are up sir, please exit the stage now.