The NFL and its locked-out officials in the NFLRA will meet on Friday, says Adam Schefter of ESPN. The meeting comes with the regular season scheduled to start in less than a week, on Wednesday, Sep. 5.
NFL Will Meet With Locked Out Refs On Friday, Per Report
Earlier in the week, the two sides engaged in a round of public sparring via the media. The NFL sent out a memo to teams on Wednesday telling them that the league would continue to use replacement officials for the start of the season.
The NFLRA responded hours later by questioning the league’s commitment to resolving the situation, pointing to the lack of talks up to that point.
Replacement officials have been used throughout the preseason with mixed results. Several high profile figures, from coaches to media members, have complained about the quality of officiating with the replacement crews. Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray went so far as to call them "the Three Stooges."
A considerable distance between the two sides remains over issues ranging from compensation, benefits, and expanding the pool of officials.
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