Mike LaFleur gives suspended NFL ref ‘a little bit of grace’ after interaction with Trey McBride

After NFL referee Jeff Seeman was suspended following vulgar comments directed at Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, Arizona head coach Mike LaFleur refrained from piling on.

“Tough one for me. You hate to see it for obvious reasons. I don’t need to go further than that,” LaFleur told reporters Monday. “Do want to give the man a little bit of grace, too. I know Jeff. He’s a good man, so it’s unfortunate it happened. It can’t happen, obviously, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Seeman received a two-game suspension after he was caught on the NFL broadcast apparently yelling a profane phrase multiple times toward McBride, who was arguing his case after a pass interference no-call, during the Cardinals’ game at the New York Giants.

McBride smiled and pointed to the television camera after Seeman seemingly cursed at the tight end at least twice.

NFLPA executive director JC Tretter called on the league to hold its official accountable.

“This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter wrote on X. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”

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