Bell: Owners can fix this,

Leverage aside, NFL must address ref issue

Look in the mirror, NFL owners.

If there was any more evidence needed to prove just how much of a sham sport you’re selling to millions of loyal fans, it was gift-wrapped on

Monday Night Football.

Call it Stupid In Seattle. Or the Fail Mary. But you could stop this, Woody Johnson. You, too, Jerry Jones. Or you, John Mara or Shad Khan or Daniel Snyder. But instead you repeat the NFL talking points or stand by while league officials do:

We’re comfortable with the replacement officials. It’s the same officiating for every team. We’re certain they’ll get better each week.

But we all knew that was malarkey. (Believe it or not, Jones said he was barely aware of what happened.) And so, for weeks, it seemed inevitable these in-over-their-heads refs would cost a team a well-earned victory. Well, it happened. If the Green Bay Packers miss the playoffs by a tiebreaker, the image of Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate sticking his arms into the scrum to lay claim to safety M.D. Jennings’ interception — after Tate pushed off safety Sam Shields and as two zebras gave different signals — should be Exhibit A for how the NFL got it wrong.

But the NFL — in a statement that sounded like it was written by lawyers — supported referee Wayne Elliott’s ruling Tuesday amid the outrage.

Here’s basically what the NFL said: If your wallet is in your pocket and I put my hand on it, that’s simultaneous possession. The statement defies common sense, 20-20 vision and high-definition TV.

Apparently, the concept of getting it right was shoved out of the picture, just like Shields — which the league admitted in its statement was offensive pass interference that should have nullified the play and ended the game with the Packers winning 12-7.

It was a debacle on many levels, and it’s absurd the officials didn’t huddle before announcing the initial call.

This whole thing is bad business. The integrity of the game has been sucker-punched again, and even harder. This is worse than the comedic blunders we’ve seen — from bad spots to free penalty yards to free challenges to refs wearing team gear.

It’s logical to think Seattle’s 14-12 victory will force NFL owners to come to their senses and give the 121 loved-like-never-before, locked-out officials whatever they want, right? Not exactly. Both sides met again Tuesday in New York, but there was no indication of a deal getting closer.

NFL owners are used to winning. They went toe-to-toe last year with the NFL Players Association and now want to crush the refs. This is the same NFL that sues mom-and-pop bars for broadcasting blacked-out football games. The league, generating more than $9 billion annually, digs in when it comes to business principles.

When the lockout began in June, NFL owners knew something like this could happen. Now, imagine Monday’s ending in Super Bowl XLVII.

The NFL can contend locked-out refs have blown calls, too. Remember Phil Luckett messing up a coin toss, which cost the Pittsburgh Steelers an overtime loss at the Detroit Lions? Or Ed Hochuli costing the San Diego Chargers a win at the Denver Broncos a couple years ago with a blown call?

Hochuli and his colleagues, however, have a rate of correct calls that scores in the high 90s.

Players, coaches and fans hate this diminished product. It doesn’t excuse Bill Belichick from grabbing an official, but his out-of-character frustration can at least be explained.

Here’s why the owners stay silent: If the league gives in to the officials, it might appear weakened in future negotiations. And there’s something else: We’re still watching this train wreck. TV ratings are outstanding.

But the game’s essence, the purity of competition on the field, has been compromised — and that’s an outrage.