One-Eyed Football Referee Sues Big Ten Over Firing

[matcom]

<snip>

Can a football referee call a game with just one eye?

Despite what some fans might say, James Filson, a Big Ten conference football referee, says he did it for years successfully and has the ability -- and the right -- to keep officiating games.

He makes the claims in a federal lawsuit he filed Monday after he says he was fired despite calling games for five years with just one eye.

When he was fired, Filson, of Bolingbrook, said he was told that if he "missed a judgement call, which all officials do from time to time, and the public or coaches knew he only had one eye he would have 'hell to pay,' " according to the lawsuit.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bigten18.html

[RedCloud]

1. The Big Ten is a farce!

They have eleven teams playing! Who is in charge of elementary math in that conference?

[deucemagnet]

2. One eye? Hell no!

Football refs must be completely blind!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. FIFA might just have a job for him.

Oh wait, he's gotta lose the other one first to qualify there. :D

Sorry - the joke had to be made.

[RagingInMiami]

4. Was he the same referee that caused the Miami Hurricanes

to lose the Fiesta Bowl a few years back?

[yellowcanine]

5. I don't know, seems to me that depth perception is limited with one eye

But wouldn't it be fairer to come up with some type of play simulator that could be used to test all referees?

[ProfessorGAC]

6. It Is Limited

I'm blind in one eye from MS. I can tell you that you are 100% correct.

Playing catch with a neighbor kid, i had the glove in the right position, but until i got used to the timing, i couldn't close the glove at the right time at first. The ball would hit right in the pocket, but i couldn't tell exactly where the ball was for the last few feet.

And, on the golf course, i have a FAR more difficult time reading greens and judging how close a ball is from 150 yds, because i've got such limited DP.

Having one good eye does make a lot of things more difficult to judge, but i will say it's more a matter of something fairly close (2 to 6 feet) or pretty far (60 to 200 yards). Things closer than 2 feet, between those two ranges, and farther than 200 yards seem pretty normal.
The Professor