The Super Bowl 50 assistant replay official probably deserves another look after it was discovered he’s got some (loose) ties to the Denver Broncos.
Jimmy Oldham, who served as the assistant replay official for the big game Sunday in California, actually lives in Denver. Furthermore, as the Internet has discovered, Oldham’s wife is a huge Broncos fan.
TheLeadSports.com has helped dig up the information, which includes Facebook photos from Oldham’s wife, photos that have been edited to exclude her first name.
In the photos, Mrs. Oldham is seen wearing Broncos gear outside Sports Authority Field in Denver, presumably before a game.
Another photo showed her in Broncos colors with Clete Blakeman, the head on-field referee for Super Bowl 50. She also attended the Super Bowl as a fan.
The NFL did issue comment on the matter to different blog, The Big Lead, saying it’s not a big issue.
“The replay assistant has no input into replay decisions and is on-site to help facilitate communication between the referee and the Vice President of Officiating, Dean Blandino, who typically works from the league’s officiating room in New York,” the NFL statement to The Big Lead read. “For the Super Bowl, Blandino was on-site at Levi’s Stadium working from the instant replay booth with the replay official, Charles Stewart, and was in direct communication with the referee during all replay reviews.”
Admittedly, there probably isn’t a whole lot to read into here. But the optics obviously aren’t great, and when you consider the Carolina Panthers were burned by a questionable replay decision early in the game, people are going to start to wonder, especially those wearing teal and black.
