r/PLL

March 21st, 2027 will be marked as Lacrosse Day In Houston to celebrate its growth of Lacrosse in Houston. Bring youth programs, TV broadcasts and everything about Lacrosse in Houston. Communities across the Houston area will celebrate Lacrosse Day In Houston.

Maybe it's recency bias speaking. But Silas has had minimal impact on this Waterdogs team compared to past 1st rounders.

How are we feeling about him?

I was going to make a joke post, but I decided that this is too serious. Whether you call it bias or intentional attention-whoring for the PLLs childish obsession with clicks, it has been clear that Matt Palumb’s performance as a lead referee and, more broadly, the PLL’s ludicrous obsession with using the same referees all the time, is harming the competitive integrity of this game. Fans of lacrosse deserve to have a professional league that seeks to ensure that games are fair, and part of that is ensuring that referees are varied and unbiased. I don’t believe that the PLL is doing this right now and it is insulting. We need a pro lacrosse to be a sport first and a business second, not the other way around. While I understand that growing the game is vital to the success of the league, disrespecting the game and the fans by focusing more on clicks and soundbites than integrity is a sacrifice we shouldn’t accept.

Are there any penalties incurred by the PLL for the F-bombs dropped during games? I find it hilarious the number of times it’s picked up by mics during games.

Update for clarity: Penalties enforced by the FCC

For seven years, the Premier Lacrosse League has used nearly the same small group of referees for every single game, with almost no turnover, under the same head referee, Matt Palumb, since the league’s founding. No other major professional sports league operates this way, and for good reason: when the same officials call the same teams and players season after season, familiarity hardens into bias. Relationships form, reputations precede players onto the field, calls become predictable in ways that have nothing to do with what actually happens in the game.

The NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL all maintain large officiating pools, rotate crews, and evaluate performance precisely to prevent this. The PLL has done the opposite for seven straight years.

If Paul Rabil and the PLL truly care about growing the game and putting the best product on the field, they must use part of the $100M series E they just raised to expand the officiating pool, rotate crews, install independent performance review, and bring new leadership to the officiating program.

Seven years without change is not stability. It is a structural problem, and it is costing the league its credibility.