Jeff Triplette
{{Short description|American football official (born 1951)}}
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| name = Jeff Triplette
| caption = Referee Jeff Triplette
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|3|12}}
| birth_place = Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
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| occupation = NFL official (1996–2017)
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Jeff Triplette (born March 12, 1951) is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1996 season through the 2017 season. He wore uniform number 42.
Personal life
Triplette is a native of Granite Falls, North Carolina, and a graduate of Wake Forest University.[http://irwamichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Event-Registration-Form-Agenda-10.16.2024-1.pdf Michigan Chapter 7 Fall Education Symposium]. He is also a retired Army Reserve colonel. Triplette was awarded the Bronze Star for actions in the Persian Gulf War while serving in the North Carolina Army National Guard.
In January 2007, Triplette was named president and chief operating officer of FNC, Inc., a provider of collateral management technology to the nation's largest mortgage lenders. Before joining FNC, he was vice president for risk management at Duke Energy, a large energy company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.{{Cite press release |title=Triplette promoted to vice president at Duke Energy |date=December 2000 |publisher=Duke Energy |url=http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2000/Dec/2000121502.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030828000455/http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2000/Dec/2000121502.html |archive-date=August 28, 2003}}
From March 2013 to June 2019, Triplette served as president and CEO of ArbiterSports, creator of athletic event management software designed to assist in assigning officials to athletic events.{{Cite web |title=OUR TEAM |url=https://www.arbitersports.com/front/501/Site/Company/Our-Team |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033203/https://www1.arbitersports.com/front/501/Site/Company/Our-Team |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |access-date=March 1, 2013}}
Officiating career
Triplette joined the NFL as a field judge in 1996, then switched to back judge in 1998 after the NFL swapped position titles that season, and became a referee in 1999 after four-time Super Bowl referee Jerry Markbreit announced his retirement.{{Cite web |title=Behind the Football Stripes |url=http://refereestats.tripod.com/crewArc.htm |access-date=October 21, 2017 |website=RefereeStats.Tripod.com}} He was the alternate referee of Super Bowl XLI, which was held on February 4, 2007, in Miami.
On December 19, 1999, Triplette accidentally hit the Cleveland Browns' Orlando Brown in the eye with a penalty flag weighed with ball bearings.{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1999 |title=PRO FOOTBALL; Player Hit by Flag Is Still in the Hospital |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/21/sports/pro-football-player-hit-by-flag-is-still-in-the-hospital.html |access-date=October 21, 2017 |via=www.NYTimes.com |agency=Associated Press}} Video shows that Triplette immediately apologized to Brown, who was then tended to by the medical staff. Brown attempted to rejoin the team on the field a few minutes later, but Triplette prevented him from entering for the next play per NFL rules which stipulate that if a player incurs an injury timeout he must sit out the next play. Brown shoved Triplette to the ground and was ejected. Initially the NFL suspended Brown indefinitely,{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1999 |title=PRO FOOTBALL; Orlando Brown Is Suspended |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/23/sports/pro-football-orlando-brown-is-suspended.html |access-date=October 21, 2017 |via=www.NYTimes.com |agency=Associated Press}} but lifted the suspension when it was learned that the flag had temporarily blinded him.{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=September 23, 2011 |title=Orlando Brown, Who Sued N.F.L. Over Errant Flag, Dies at 40 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/sports/football/orlando-brown-who-sued-nfl-over-errant-flag-dies-at-40.html |access-date=October 21, 2017 |via=www.NYTimes.com}} As a result of the incident, the practice of officials using flags weighted with ball bearings was discontinued in favor of other material. In addition, officials are now only instructed to throw a flag at the spot of the foul if they need to mark it as a possible spot for penalty enforcement; otherwise, they only need to throw it up in the air.{{Cite web |title=ArbiterMobile - Mobile Referee Assignment & Schedule |url=https://www.arbitersports.com/products/arbitermobile/ |access-date=October 21, 2017 |website=ArbiterSports.com}}{{Cite web |title=Tape shows Jags' Beasley hit by flag |url=http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/news/2000/1008/807546.html |access-date=October 21, 2017 |website=static.ESPN.go.com}}
On December 8, 2013, Triplette's crew initially ruled that a fourth-down run by Cincinnati Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis against the Indianapolis Colts was down by contact just short of the goal line. Because it was less than two minutes before halftime, it automatically went to replay. After reviewing the play, Triplette reversed the call and awarded the touchdown to Green-Ellis.{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2013 |title=Bengals build 14-0 lead after Colts' fourth-down stop reversed |url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/08/bengals-build-14-0-halftime-lead-after-colts-fourth-down-stop-reversed/ |access-date=October 21, 2017 |website=ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com}} His reversal was based on footage of Green-Ellis near the goal line where he was clearly not touched, but he did not look at footage earlier in the play where there was contact.{{Cite news |date=December 11, 2013 |title=NFL admits making replay mistake in Colts game |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-admits-making-replay-mistake-in-colts-game/2013/12/11/a1dded4e-62bb-11e3-af0d-4bb80d704888_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131212100233/http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-admits-making-replay-mistake-in-colts-game/2013/12/11/a1dded4e-62bb-11e3-af0d-4bb80d704888_story.html |archive-date=December 12, 2013 |access-date=October 21, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press}} This miscall helped revive discussions around centralizing all replay review functions to the league office, similar to the National Hockey League's system.{{Cite web |last=Mike Florio |date=December 8, 2013 |title=Replay could be heading to central location, eventually |url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/08/replay-could-be-heading-to-central-location-eventually/ |access-date=October 21, 2017 |website=ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com}} Centralized replay was then approved at the owners' meeting on March 26, 2014, although NFL referees will still make the final decisions instead of the command center.[http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/26/five-rules-changes-pass-as-nfl-owners-vote-at-league-meeting/ Michael David Smith. March 26, 2014. "Five rules changes pass as NFL owners vote at league meeting". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved March 26, 2014.]
Triplette privately began discussing retirement from the NFL during the 2017 season.{{Cite web |last=Seifert |first=Kevin |date=July 11, 2018 |title=Should NFL worry about referee turnover? Here's why there's concern |url=http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/277725/should-nfl-worry-about-referee-turnover-heres-why-theres-concern |access-date=July 11, 2018 |website=ESPN.com}} Triplette's work during his last assignment of the 2017 regular season (the Week 17 game between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins) was marred by confusion over players (at one point ejecting a player from the wrong team who was not on the field and another player who did not exist after an on-field fight, eventually correcting his mistake after a ten-minute instant replay review).{{Cite web |last=Michael David Smith |date=August 15, 2017 |title=Bills went from tanking talk to the playoffs, and other Week 17 thoughts – ProFootballTalk |url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/01/01/bills-went-from-tanking-talk-to-the-playoffs-and-other-week-17-thoughts/amp/ |access-date=September 20, 2018 |publisher=Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com}}{{Cite web |date=January 2, 2018 |title=The real reason for Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry's ejection vs. Bills | The Daily Dolphin |url=http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2018/01/02/the-real-reason-for-dolphins-wr-jarvis-landrys-ejection-vs-bills/ |access-date=September 20, 2018 |publisher=Dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com}} In the following week's wild card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, he was also criticized for prematurely calling the ball dead before the play would have otherwise ended on several plays; one such incident, on a sack that appeared to be a forced fumble had Triplette not blown the whistle, potentially altered the outcome of that game. (Triplette defended his decision by noting that the rules for a sack do not require the quarterback be brought down, only that he be wrapped up and/or that his progress be stopped, which Triplette argued was the case.){{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Zoe |date=January 7, 2018 |title=Referee Jeff Triplette reportedly retiring after questionable performance in NFL playoffs | Sports |url=http://www.kctv5.com/story/37209400/referee-jeff-triplette-reportedly-retiring-after-questionable-performance-in-nfl-playoffs |access-date=September 20, 2018 |publisher=kctv5.com}} In both games, Triplette was criticized for losing control of the game. After the wild card game, reports surfaced that Triplette was planning on retiring, and speculation also emerged that his officiating the playoff game was a farewell gesture from the league. On March 6, 2018, the league confirmed that Triplette would be leaving his position after a 22-year career.{{Cite web |title=NFL referees Ed Hochuli, Jeff Triplette retiring |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-referees-ed-hochuli-jeff-triplette-retiring-0ap3000000919752 |access-date=March 6, 2018 |website=NFL.com}} As he had notified the league well in advance, they were able to prepare for Alex Kemp to step into Triplette's position.
''Monday Night Football''
Triplette was added to the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast team as a rules analyst in June 2018, replacing Gerald Austin.{{Cite web |last=Cameron Filipe |date=June 20, 2018 |title=Jeff Triplette to join ESPN broadcast booth as rules analyst |url=http://www.footballzebras.com/2018/06/20/jeff-triplette-to-join-espn-broadcast-booth-as-rules-analyst// |access-date=June 20, 2018 |website=Football Zebras}} He served for one season in the role before ESPN replaced him with John Parry.{{Cite news |last=Filipe |first=Cameron |date=April 1, 2019 |title=John Parry to become new ESPN rules analyst |url=http://www.footballzebras.com/2019/04/john-parry-to-become-new-espn-rules-analyst/ |publisher=Football Zebras}}