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Mike Evans caught some heat after Sunday’s loss to the Panthers as one of the officiating crew members was seen stopping the wideout to allegedly ask for an autograph. The incident made headlines as fans criticized the ref for being a fanboy, and possibly showing favoritism towards a particular player.
It’s certainly not a good look for the referee, and in fact, there have been punishments handed down by the NFL for similar situations in the past. With that being said, the league opened up an investigation to get to the bottom of occurrence.
According to the NFL rulebook, officials “shall not… ask players, coaches or any other team personnel for autographs or memorabilia.”
Following the investigation, we seem to have gotten some closure on the odd interaction.
Mike Evans reportedly receives golf lessons the ref in the video clip.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Evans was just giving his phone number to referee Jeff Lamberth.
WR Mike Evans and side judge Jeff Lamberth both went to Texas A&M, and Lamberth was getting Evans’ phone number to pass it along to a golf pro to give Evans lessons, per sources. Lamberth didn’t have paper, so he borrowed it from another official.
Both are apparently Texas A&M alum, and Lamberth was planning on passing the info along to a golf pro. Evans, using that Aggie connection, was just looking to improve his game on the course.
The NFL released a statement on the incident, reminding the officials “of the importance of avoiding even the appearance of impropriety when interacting with players, coaches, and club staff on gameday…” It doesn’t look like any punishment will come of the event.
It didn’t appear Evans was getting any special treatment on the field as the Bucs got smashed by the Panthers, 21-3. Glad we can finally put this incident behind us.