My entire life, I have been a fervent college football fan. This passion brings me here today. During the recent South Carolina vs. LSU game, the Texas A&M vs. Florida game, and several other games, I have witnessed a level of unfairness that outstripped any prior experience. It felt unfair to millions of viewers, and has become a travesty that strikes at the heart of the sport I love so deeply.

Currently, collegiate sports officials are part-time, and doing this as essentially a hobby. There is currently no way to hold officials accountable, and they are not professionals. College coaches are actually fined for calling out poor officiating. As collegiate sports have changed over recent years, sports gambling has become legal in many states, and players are now being paid 7 figures to play their sport, we now need to have salaried and full-time officials that can be held accountable. Whether more resources are needed for the correct calls to be made in real-time, more training for officials, or consequences for biases and corruption, collegiate sports fans, staffers, athletes and coaches deserve better. 

This issue is prevalent across collegiate football and collegiate sports in general, and there is no way to hold officials accountable at any point, and certainly not in real time. If we can gather enough signatures, we will pass along our petition to the SEC, the NCAA, and government officials to demand steps are taken to address this issue and ensure gambling, corruption and incompetence do not control the sports we all love.

We need to preserve the ethos of fair play that should underpin all sports. Therefore, this petition seeks to demand a thorough investigation into the officiating process of the Southeastern conference, the NCAA, and all other governing bodies of college sports. It is crucial that we maintain a level playing field, where the sport's integrity isn't compromised by ill-judged calls or biased officials. 

By lending your signature to this cause, we can demonstrate our collective disappointment and ensure steps are taken to prevent such incidents from recurring. Please sign this petition and help restore fairness to collegiate football in the SEC and beyond.