Side judge pulled from Saints-Panthers game after his Facebook page showed Saints fandom

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/9z5FO.K_xu9HdmXc6zQ9Wg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/

Through the current lockout of its game officials, the NFL has been emphatic all along that its replacement officials have passed all appropriate background checks. One would assume that the fill-in crews go through the same checks that the regular, locked-out refs do, but in at least one case, the NFL really dropped the ball. Brian Stropolo, a side judge assigned to work Sunday's game between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, was pulled from the crew after it was discovered that his Facebook page shows him to be a hardcore Saints fan.

Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, told Stacey Dales of the NFL Network that while there was nothing "essentially improper" about Stropolo's specific allegiance, he was removed from the game as a "safe and appropriate measure" to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Stropolo "proudly displays his Saints colors on his Facebook page," and the evidence is pretty clear. There's a waterfront shot in which Stropolo is wearing a Saints hat and windbreaker, and another where he's wearing a Saints hat in a shot with three other people. There's still another shot in which Stropolo is seen tailgating at the Superdome before a preseason game -- fortunately, we suppose, he wasn't working that one.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/side-judge-pulled-saints-panthers-game-facebook-page-143323464--nfl.html