NFL will use replacement referees in week one

HALES CORNERS -- The NFL announced that because of the ongoing labor dispute with the referee union, replacement refs will be used at least during week one of the season, if not for longer.

Replacement refs were already being used for the preseason games.

"You got professional coaches, you got professional players, and replacement refs?" said Packers great LeRoy Butler on 1250-AM WSSP's The Big Show in Milwaukee. "It's embarrassing."

He was on with hosts Steve "Sparky" Fifer and former Packers player Gary Ellerson.

Ellerson and Butler expressed concerns about safety stemming from poor rule enforcement.

"You must take care of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady must be taken care of," Ellerson said. "You must take care of the bread winners in this league."

The two former players also felt the replacement refs could become intimated by NFL coaches, miss calls, make bad calls or enforce the game too strictly.

The Packers open regular season play on Fox 6 September 9th vs. the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field.