The commercial premiered during the broadcast of the first NFL game this season when the Kansas City Chiefs played host to the Baltimore Ravens on September 5. And while the approach of the commercial was creative, the portrayal of the officiating industry was disheartening.
While officiating harassment and abuse is an unfortunate reality in the world of sports, the normalization of bad behavior portrayed by the commercial footage was out of bounds. And the interaction acted out in the commercial between officiating crewmates in their locker room was nothing short of abhorrent.
Watch the controversial commercial here.
A primary focus of NASO is to dispel unfair and malicious portrayals of referees and umpires and to shine a positive light on the strong character and positive accomplishments of the people who officiate sports.
As part of advocating for officials, NASO has pushed back on various companies over the years for their negative portrayal of officials or for endorsing or normalizing the negative treatment of officials.
NASO President Bill Topp wrote the following letter on behalf of NASO members and sports officials throughout the country, calling out The Farmer’s Dog:
