Why in the world would anyone want to be a referee?

Late in the afternoon on Sunday, Jan. 20, not too long after the clock hit zeros on the controversial 2019 NFC Championship Game, a decision was made. The officials who had worked that game and missed a crucial pass interference call on Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman -- one that helped decide the outcome of the contest -- would have to be moved to another hotel.

With a police escort, the seven-man crew was transported out of the heart of a seething New Orleans and into the safer ground of the suburbs. The phone calls and banging on doors and threats had become too much. One member of the crew was convinced to hand over his phone after his personal number made it out into…