NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to reporters at length at a press conference today, and player safety was among the major topics. The most interesting tidbit came about when Goodell was asked specifically about the high-profile back-and-forth between Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman late in the season.

Goodell said he has pushed in the past for two personal fouls to trigger an automatic ejection, signaling that he does not trust the NFL’s embattled referees to control the games.

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The issue has become a touchy one after the NFL, hyper-sensitive to concussions, watched Beckham vs. Norman dominate the news cycle for nearly a full week after the game. Beckham had been flagged for three personal fouls in that game, and referees missed several more.

A few weeks later the NFL’s best receiver, Antonio Brown (Steelers), would be knocked out in in a postseason game by Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict, who has a history of personal fouls, ended Le’Veon Bell’s season earlier this year, and was later suspended for the first three games of the 2016 regular season.

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The Bengals vs. Steelers game was particularly alarming, as there had been threats made by players on both sides of physical harm, and the game itself featured very rough play, including a head-to-head hit on Bengals RB Giovani Bernard that was missed by the refs.

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