The Controversy Over The Use Of Instant Review In Modern Day Sports

In 1963, Tony Verna invented instant review, which at the time many people thought would be a groundbreaking invention for all sports. In modern-day sports, it is very controversial. The controversy stems from people still thinking it’s good for the game to know every call on the field with a few errors. Contrary to how people believe sports should be officiated by officials on the field without instant replay, Furthermore, instant replay slows down any sport; for example, on average, among all sports, there are 1.75 reviews for a game taking 3–4 minutes each. In addition, only 19% of reviewed plays get overturned. Above all, instant reviews in sports cause games to be watched at a much slower pace and have changed the way sports are officiated.

For example, “Last year, the NFL suffered a series of high-profile mistakes that decided the outcome of crucial games. The most embarrassing occurred on Thanksgiving Day, when, in a tie game between Pittsburgh and Detroit, officials bungled the coin flip preceding overtime and awarded the ball to the wrong team, which then scored to win the game” (Ratto). Having the refs make a huge mistake that ended up making the opposing team lose was crucial in that game. If there was an instant replay, coaches and other officials would be able to review the call, correcting the official’s mistake, which may or may not have altered the final score of the game. In this case, the decision was game-changing, but in many cases, the calls being reviewed may not matter and will be forgotten by the end of the game. Secondly, many sports fans think that instant replay is going to make the referee job easier due to them being able to review the calls so later on they won’t be embarrassed by calls fans thought were right or wrong. Supporters of instant replay (specifically in the MLB)

If a play does get reviewed, it will be looked at by more than just the officials on the field. This can cause the official who made the original call to second-guess himself. If the play is challenged and is super close, he might end up changing his decision just because he did not trust himself. For example, during a baseball game, the “Red Sox” were playing the New York Yankees in the Bronx. With runners on first and third and one out, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli appeared to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. The out at first base was the ball entering Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli's glove as Cervelli's foot touched the bag. First base umpire Bob Davidson called Cervelli out. Yankees manager Joe Girardi responded to the call. A phone call was placed to Major League Baseball's Replay Operations Center. Because the game was being aired in prime time on ESPN, millions of viewers also saw multiple angles of the play. None appeared conclusive, but the call was overturned” (“Your Lying Eyes”). Sometimes, when there is a review of the play, it is too unclear to overturn. However, even though the play is looked at repeatedly, no decision can be made. This is an incompetent use of time because nothing was decided through the official review. However, in this particular play, the refs saw something that nobody else saw and overturned the play for the home team. Typically, this is a rare