It is the worst thing that could be happening to the sport right now. It is the NFL’s replacement refereeing.

The unprofessionalism from the NFL and the replacement referees has hit a level so high that Charles Barkley’s cholesterol now has competition.

The latest in the never-ending tales of the replacement referees comes from LeSean McCoy, who claims that a referee told him he needs him to do well for his fantasy team.

This is the first, but probably not last, of personal boundaries crossed by the intern referees.

Up to this point, the NFL was the erroneous of the two parties. The league office made the mistakes of hiring a former Lingerie Football League referee, allowing a formerly-paid Seahawks practice referee to officiate the Seahawks-Cardinals season-opener and almost allowing a diehard Saints fan to be on the crew for the Saints-Panthers game.

Until the McCoy incident, the referees should have been given the benefit of the doubt. It’s not their fault they do not meet the same standards as the men they are filling in for.

Yes, they miss calls, blow calls and are easily persuaded by players and their environment. But that burden rests on the inflated shoulders of NFL commissioner, and part-time schoolyard bully, Roger Goodell.

So it is time, Goodell, for you to deflate your ego and end the lockout. Please bring the real referees back.