On Thursday night, history was being made all over the stadium as the Chargers were being obliterated by the Raiders in Las Vegas. But it wasn’t the teams putting their names in the record books.
Instead, it was the NFL officiating crew.
“In an NFL first, an all-Black on-field and replay crew will officiate tonight’s game. It also will be the first time that three women will be on the same crew, with one on the field and two in the replay booth,” posted NFL Operations last night on Twitter/X.
The history-making crew consisted of Referee Ronald Torbert, Line Judge Maia Chaka, Down Judge Patrick Holt, Side Judge Keith Washington, Umpire Barry Anderson, Field Judge Nathan Jones, Back Judge Greg Yette, Total Replay Official Artenzia Young-Seigler and Assistant Replay Official Desiree Abrams.
The historic night was made even more special as it was the first time that three women officials worked the game, two in the booth (Young-Seigler and Abrams) and one on the field (Chaka).
Chaka is no stranger to the history books. On September 12th, 2021, in a game between the Jets and the Panthers in Charlotte, Chaka, the second woman to be hired as a full-time NFL official (Sarah Thomas was the first), became the first Black woman ever to officiate an NFL game.
“This historic moment to me is an honor and it’s a privilege that I’ve been chosen to represent women and women of color in the most popular sport in America, proving that I can defy the odds and overcome,” Chaka said in an NFL video at the time.
This was the second time a Black officiating crew made history.
On November 23rd, 2020, in the Monday Night Football game between the LA Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the officiating crew of Jerome Boger (Referee), Barry Anderson (umpire), Anthony Jeffries (side judge), Carl Johnson (line judge), Julian Mapp (down judge), Dale Shaw (field judge) and Greg Steed (back judge) became the first all-Black officiating crew to work a game in NFL history.
These officials follow in the footsteps of Burl Toller and Johnny Grier.
In 1965, Toller became the first Black field official to work an NFL game when he was appointed to Head Linesman. 15 years later in 1980, he became the first Black official in Super Bowl history.
Eight years later in 1988, Johnny Grier became the NFL’s first Black referee. That season he was a part of history when he officiated Super Bowl XXII, where Doug Williams became the first Black starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
It’s only fitting that this much history was made in Las Vegas, as the Raiders became the first team in NFL history to have a Black team President (Sandra Douglass Morgan), GM (Champ Kelly) and Head Coach (Antonio Pierce).
