Micah's Gripe: Is Dallas Cowboys' Sack Leader Parsons a Victim of NFL Referees Bias?

Micah's Gripe: Is Dallas Cowboys' Sack Leader Parsons a Victim of NFL Referees Bias? And Is The Accusatory Complaint Going to Backfire?

FRISCO - Micah Parsons has launched a campaign against the NFL officials who he thinks just won't cut him a break - call it, "Look at Me!'' - and while it might have merit in terms of the Dallas Cowboys star not getting the calls he wants, it might have another result.

It might backfire.

And maybe that's why Dallas' defensive coaches are trying to be both sympathetic to his cause and encouraging him to avoid being overly concerned about it.

Defensive line coach Aden Durde, Parsons said, "is like, ‘Bro, you got to remember you’re Micah (Bleeping) Parsons ... You got to keep going, (bleep) all the other stuff,'" he said. "I just gotta keep going. ... I'm going to keep hunting."

Hunting for sacks. But also, it seems, hunting for penalties to be called against the offensive linemen who he claims are holding him, play after play after play, keeping him from adding even more impact than his standout number of 11.5 sacks in 11 games causes.

"Yeah it's frustrating," Parsons said. "I kinda wish people saw it the way I do, but I tell the ref, 'If you just look at me the whole time, you don't even gotta look nowhere else. You just look right there and it's right in front of you."

"Just look at me the whole time''? 

Sure, there will be eyes on Parsons as he leads the 8-3 Cowboys against the visiting 6-5 Seahawks on "Thursday Night Football.'' But Micah is asking for the impossible here; there are 22 people on every play performing a wide and long assortment of actions.

The referees are not going to "just look at Micah the whole time'' because he thinks he's being held. ... and his suggestion that "he's being treated unfairly by the officiating,'' as the team website put it, could have the opposite effect of what he's shooting for.

Officials might not mind being told they're wrong. Officials do not like being told they're incompetent, lazy or biased.

Cowboys' Micah Parsons OUT of Practice, But Recruiting Shaq Leonard

The local paper is doing its part, the Dallas News writing, "Parsons has drawn two holding calls all season,'' while also pointing out that "Osa Odighizuwa leads Dallas with four holding penalties drawn.''

And the DMN offers video evidence of some times when Parsons could've gotten a call.

At the same time, are we to surmise that the refs are "looking at Osa'' and "favoring Osa'' but are somehow "against'' Parsons? That, on its surface, seems nonsensical.

Cowboys hybrid DE Micah Parsons did not draw a single penalty Thursday vs. Commanders, but a film review of his 64 snaps shows he certainly could have. Story: https://t.co/SIhhLitXEZ pic.twitter.com/2JbP6qLb14

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 24, 2023

And one other point on the "unfairness'' of it all: To measure whether Parsons is being mistreated, believing he's been held five times isn't enough; we need to now study to see if T.J. Watt, Danielle Hunter, Khalil Mack, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby are being officiated differently than Parsons has been.

But there is logic, and then there is ... 

"It kinda gets me on the emotion side because I'm competing, and I'm daring to be great, and I'm challenging these guys," Micah said. "That (lack of flags) definitely bothers me and I'm working on it. Playing it cool, not letting it get the best of me. ...''

When Parsons says, "I'm challenging these guys,'' he means his Cowboys teammates. But he's also "challenging'' the officials ... right as his coaches are trying to guide him to another level of wisdom here with four simple words.

"(Bleep) all the other stuff.''