The Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders game marked a watershed in NFL officiating history. Ronald Torbert led the first-ever all-black on-field and replay crew to officiate a game, as reported by The Athletics.
In addition, this was the first time that the three women—two in the playback booth and one on the field—worked the game together. Maia Chaka was the line judge, Artenzia Young-Seigler was the replay official, and Desiree Abrams was the replay assistant.
The NFL wrote on Twitter, “History. Tonight, the first ever all-Black on-field and replay crew will officiate the game. It also will be the first time that three women will be on the same crew. #InspireChange.”
The NFL has proven that it is dedicated to promoting inclusivity in the spirit of diversity, as the historic game showed.The league announced that, for the first time in league history, the majority of the team members—51 percent—are women or people of color, making the “Thursday Night Football” game historic.
Nine full-time Black general managers and five full-time Black team presidents are also present. When the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers met on November 23, 2020, an all-black crew became the first in NFL history to referee a game.
According to The Athletic, the seven-person crew was commanded by referee Jerome Boger and consisted of Greg Steed as the back judge, Carl Johnson as the line judge, Julian Mapp as the down judge, Dale Shaw as the field judge, and Barry Anderson as the umpire.
The NFL’s first Black referee was Johnny Grier. Sixty-eight years after the league’s foundation in 1920, he rose to fame as a field judge in 1988. However, in 2006, 99 years after the league’s founding, Sarah Thomas became its first female on-field official.
Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said during the media session, “We’re focused on working with the clubs to improve diversity up and down the ranks of the NFL in their organizations. It’s really the humans-to-human connection and building relationships that hopefully are long-standing.”