Riveron: NFL officials ‘try to eliminate the gray areas’

The NFL’s new senior director of officiating sees one primary goal for game officials.

Eliminate the gray areas.

‘We try to make it as black and white as possible’

“And we try to make it as black and white as possible,” Riveron told Bob Papa and Solomon Wilcots on The Opening Drive. “But, remember, our rules are black and white, but we play the game in the gray area. And I think the number one thing that everyone requires of our game — fans, players, coaches, media — everyone that has a passion for the game, the big word is consistency.”

For Riveron and those responsible for how games are officiated, that means making every effort to maintain uniformity in the way every call is made.

‘When we have a game at one o’clock in Miami, everyone wants to see that game officiated the same way as a one o’clock game in Seattle’

“When we have a game at one o’clock in Miami, everyone wants to see that game officiated the same way as a one o’clock game in Seattle,” he said. “And that’s important to us. So it’s important to us that our staff of 124 officials really are as consistent as possible week in and week out, play in and play out.

“And that’s the key to our business, is consistency.”