Cowboys Micah Parsons voices deep frustration with officials while advocating for expanded coach challenges on penalties

Parsons claimed officials in the NFL have an ego problem.

No one can keep Micah Parsons from voicing his opinion—not when it’s affecting results on the field. The Dallas Cowboys linebacker called out the officials for not giving holding calls, even though that has become a recurring theme almost every single time he steps foot into a game.

In last week’s NFC East matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Parsons managed to complete two tackles, which, according to the 24-year-old, could have been more if the Eagles defenders kept holding onto him during the blitz. What ticked him off the most was that the majority of them went unnoticed by the officials’ watchful eyes.

The Cowboys pass rusher did not hold back on his criticism of the officiating. According to him, there’s a perception that if the players behave nicely with the refs, they will do their job better.

The problem I see with officiating is that I think it becomes a lot more of an ego thing. People say that when you come over and talk nicely to the referee, he’s going to want to do his job right. But in my eyes, why would I have to talk to you in any way if you just did your job the first time?

Referees don’t care feels Micah Parsons

Bad officiating is a bad disease that the NFL can’t seem to shake off. Even before the Cowboys edge rusher’s firey take, Browns’ Myles Garrett targeted the refs for making horrible decisions. More often than not, players are the ones who end up on the wrong side of the league’s wrath due to the amount of fines the committee dishes out.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (Image via Si)
After the Eagles win, which equaled both franchise win records (10–3), Parsons shared a clip uploaded by the Athletic’s Jon Machota. In the video, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert tried to stop the on-rushing Cowboys man and fended him long enough for quarterback Jalen Hurts to make a play. Parsons wrote, “It’s comical.“

Micah Parsons was held. No call pic.twitter.com/OYpUVHSEaq

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota)

December 11, 2023

They don’t care. They’re not getting checks in the mail or notes in the mail about things like that. That’s the only problem I have.

Parsons further said

Micah Parsons is the type of player who doesn’t give up easily. Even if the officiating isn’t going in their favor, he will persevere to hit his prey. He does have 12.5 sacks in 2023 and is well on the way to being part of the Defensive Player of the Year talk. Next up is a trip to Orchard Park to face the Buffalo Bills.