NFL referee Gene Steratore started laughing before calling the New England Patriots for their first offensive penalty of the postseason during Super Bowl 52, a Rob Gronkowski false start:
NFL ref laughed before calling the Patriots for their 1st offensive penalty of postseason
Twitter immediately jumped to conspiracy theories.
Steratore is known for having fun and not always being extremely serious at all moments, even if the stakes for this game are the highest of the season. But it’s also funny because there’s a stigma that referees are on New England’s side.
They did skate through their opening two games without committing a single penalty, and against the Jacksonville Jaguars, there was a referee laughing in the middle of a Patriots touchdown celebration.
Twitter IMMEDIATELY jumped to conspiracy theories
The referees aren’t on New England’s side, but it WAS funny
I could see Steratore laughing because he knew all about the perception and that this was New England’s first penalty of the season. I think it’s silly to say that the refs are purposefully helping the Patriots — again, never assume intention when incompetence is an equally acceptable reason — but the whole situation is absolutely funny.
