Arizona Rattlers head coach Kevin Guy speaking with reporters after a postseason loss in the Indoor Football League Photo Credit: Nick King on X, CBS 5 in Arizona
By Reice Shipley on

On Monday, the Arizona Rattlers saw their hopes of repeating as Indoor Football League champions end at the hands of San Diego Strike Force on a last-second touchdown marred with controversy. And this led to Rattlers head coach Kevin Guy to go on an expletive-filled rant condemning everyone from the game operations staff to the officials.

The game came down to the final play when Strike Force quarterback Nate Davis was able to find Arthur Jackson III for a three-yard touchdown to tie the game. The only problem is, it was an incredibly close call as to whether Davis got the snap off before the running clock hit zero.

There would be a review that lasted nearly ten minutes to determine whether the ball was snapped in time. And ultimately, it was determined that the call on the field would stand, which would go on to result in a San Diego victory after the follow-up extra point was kicked.

After the game, Guy wasn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers in an epic press conference rant, airing his grievances with everyone he felt was at fault for his team’s loss, including the game operations staff keeping track of the game clock, and the referees officiating the game.

“Our operations was bullshit,” said Guy in a video shared on social media by Nick King of CBS 5 in Arizona. “I mean, clock guy, the replay guy, everybody, they’re fired. They won’t work with me again. I tell you that right now. I got to have that information so we can make a decision. The flag was thrown for a false start, and then they went and reviewed it and picked it up. I mean, the whole thing was a cluster f*ck. It just seems like we always get screwed at home at the end, all right? Don’t really give a shit if the league fines me or not. Don’t care. I’m so tired of the referees being a part of the game. I’m so freaking tired. He threw a flag for false start, then they go over there and pick it up.

“At the end of the day, we thought the clock ran out. I’ll go watch the game, see the film, whatever. But I am so tired of these kinds of games at our place. We’ll get into the meetings in the offseason, and we need to put the whole referee system under review. I’m just fed up with it. It just seems like all these games always happen here at our place.”

Guy would go on to explain that the officiating crew has far more issues than just the final play, citing how opposing cornerbacks had “their hands all over” Arizona Rattlers receivers all season long, yet his team was the one called for the hands to the face penalty at a crucial point in Monday’s game.

“We scored a touchdown right before halftime. They call it back, saying hands to the face. Well, you know what? They had their hands all over us all night long, all night long,” said Guy. “I b*tched about it all year long, about these DBs wrapping our receivers up, pulling them. They can’t touch you after five yards. This is not college football. This is professional football. They cannot touch you after five yards. They got their hands on it. We got college referees calling pro games. That’s the problem right now.

“They don’t know the damn difference. It was a dog and pony show. I can tell you, those guys, they won’t be welcome back here reffing here again. I can tell you that. I don’t give them. We’ll fly five guys in from the east coast every day. I don’t care. Them reffing in our building. I am so tired of that crew, those same guys involved in it every freaking year. Then they tell me every year that Arizona crew is one of the best. That’s a bunch of crap. That is a bunch of crap. I’m tired of dealing with it. I haven’t seen it because the damn replay people wouldn’t play the damn thing in our building. Piss poor production, just like I said.”

Maybe once Guy gets a chance to look over the film of the final play, he will come to a different conclusion about how the game was officiated. But clearly, at least for the time being, Guy thinks that the Arizona Rattlers got a raw deal.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley