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Activity Number: 513
Type: Invited
Date/Time: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Sports
Abstract #314491
Title: Refs: They're Just Like Us! Adversarial and Social Pressures in the National Football League
Author(s): Michael J. Lopez*
Companies: Skidmore College
Keywords: sports ; football ; mixed models ; referees ; natural experiment ; performance evaluation
Abstract:

Referees are tasked with making split-second, impartial calls in high pressure situations. Given the discretion involved with many decisions, it is no surprise that researchers have found that home crowds impact referee behavior. But in addition to a social pressure, there is also an adversarial pressure to appease tempestuous coaches and energetic players on the participating teams. Using each National Football League contest as a natural experiment, we contrast the frequencies of penalties most susceptible to this pressure. Next, we use mixed modeling strategies to quantify the effects of adversarial pressure as well as play-specific characteristics on penalty outcomes.

Authors who are presenting talks have a * after their name.

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