Racial Bias in National Football League Officiating

Abstract

Racial bias in sport is a prevalent research topic. Much of the previous research regarding bias among referees in sport focused on sports such as baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer. Professional American football is unique because race is more clearly defined when compared to these other sports. Additionally, by examining holding penalties, which are known to be more subjective and called predominately by a single official on the field (i.e., the umpire), racial bias in officiating can be more efficiently analyzed in professional American football. The purpose of this study is to examine potential racial bias regarding holding penalties in the National Football League (NFL). Three years of data from the 2013 to 2014 through 2015 to 2016 NFL seasons were used, including the races of officials and players involved in holding penalties. Results showed no evidence of racial bias in the calling of holding penalties by White officials. However, Black umpires were found to call more holding penalties when led by a White referee. Additionally, Black players were more likely to have holding penalties called on them earlier in the game by all officials.

False Start? An Analysis of NFL Penalties With and Without Crowds

“…In particular, penalties such as holding, interference, and unnecessary roughness, are far more likely to be called near midfield, but only near one team's side line. Other determinants shown to be important are warmer weather (Craig et al, 2016), off-the-field arrest records (Ge, 2019; Leal et al, 2017), the race of the player (Eiserloh et al, 2020), and even the race of the Head Coach (Davis et al, 2022).…”

A shame of inches: Are teams with black head coaches more heavily penalized in Division 1 college football?

“…Testing this theory using an experimental design, Hall and Livingston (2012) find empirical evidence that black football players are judged more harshly for excessive celebrations than white players. More recently, work from Eiserloh, Foreman, and Heintz (2020) shows that even minor penalties such as “holding” were more likely to be called on black players than white players. Further, recent work has shown significant penalties for NFL players who engage in racially conscious social activism, such as anthem protests (Niven 2019).…”

“…As previous research has explored how black athletes are disproportionately penalized for on‐field behavior (Eiserloh, Foreman, and Heintz 2020; Hall and Livingston 2012), we make efforts to control for player characteristics that may intervene in the hypothesized relationship between coach race and on‐field penalties. As research shows that in football, the quarterback position serves as a public racialized signal of the team (Mercurio and Filak 2010), we account for the race of the primary quarterback for each team in each year.…”

“…While research on race and the sociology of sport has focused on the racial characteristics and expectations of players for on‐field penalization (Eiserloh, Foreman, and Heintz 2020; Hall and Livingston 2012), much less is known of racialized leadership positions such as coaching. When studies do consider racial leadership, the emphasis is typically on the effects of race on hiring and promotion rather than on‐field dynamics (Day 2015; Day and McDonald 2010; Savage and Seebruck, 2015, 2016; Seebruck and Savage 2014, 2019).…”

Racial Bias in Fans and Officials: Evidence from the Italian Serie A

“…These discrepancies carry over to other top leagues, with less than 2000 referees out of approximately 28,000 in the English Football Association identifying as BAME. 4 While these articles and descriptives suggest bias is likely, previous works examining performance bias have often been limited due to complications with data and the categorization of players (Eiserloh et al, 2010).…”