In the week since referee Ed Hochuli blew a call that cost the San Diego Chargers a game against the Denver Broncos, thousands of Chargers fans have inundated Hochuli with e-mails.
Surprisingly, Hochuli replied, telling fans that he was sorry, that he agrees that he screwed up royally and that he feels terrible about it. But now the NFL has told Hochuli to knock it off. Chris Mortensen reported on ESPN (via PFT) that the league office has told Hochuli to zip it.
And while there's a part of me that admires Hochuli for being forthright enough to publicly admit his mistakes, I have to agree with the league office here: It's inappropriate for a referee to communicate with fans about the calls he makes. The sooner Hochuli stops e-mailing people about the botched call, the sooner a good referee will be able to move on from a bad mistake.
