Louisiana governor sends formal complaint to NFL over call in Rams-Saints game

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has issued a formal complaint to the NFL over a no-call by referees in Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams.

“On behalf of the people of Louisiana and New Orleans Saints fans all across the country, I am writing to you to express our deep disappointment with the outcome of the NFC Championship game on Sunday,” Edwards wrote in the letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday.

{mosads}The letter comes amid uproar over Sunday’s NFC championship match after no penalty was called when Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis while a pass was in the air with less than two minutes left in the tie game.

Robey-Coleman later said that the hit constituted pass interference.

The Saints ended up losing the game in overtime, 26-23.

A New Orleans attorney on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to push the NFL to address the pass interference no-call.

“The very least that any fan of the Saints, or any other team, should be able to expect from any game is that the result will be denied by the players on the field,” Edwards wrote. “By missing the obvious, blatant and intentional penalty at the end of the game, the referees in Sunday’s game undermined that expectation and unfortunately were allowed to determine the winner. “

“This team deserved better,” Edwards wrote. “Saints fans deserved better. The City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana deserved better.” 

Edwards acknowledged that his input was “unlikely to change the result of the game,” but he pushed the NFL to consider implementing tools that would prevent a similar incident from occurring again.

Following Sunday’s game, the Rams are set to take on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in Atlanta.