First All-Black Crew Officiates Field, Replay At NFL Game
For the first time in history, an all-black on-field and replay crew officiated an NFL game. Referee Ronald Torbert and his team marked the first occurrence when one woman was on the field while two were in the replay booth. The all-black female officials were Maia Chaka (line judge), Artenzia Young-Seigler (replay official), and Desiree Abrams (replay assistant).
Historic All-Black Crew Officiates NFL Game; Credit: Amazon TNF
The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers officiating crew were:
- Referee: Torbert, Ronald (62)
- Line Judge: Chaka, Maia (100)
- Down Judge: Holt, Patrick (106)
- Side Judge: Washington, Keith (7)
- Umpire: Anderson, Barry (20)
- Field Judge: Jones, Nathan (33)
- Back Judge: Yette, Greg (38)
- Total Replay Official: Young-Seigler, Artenzia (0)
- Assistant Replay Official: Abrams, Desiree
HBCU ALUMS
Maia Chaka is a Norfolk State alumnus who became an NFL official in 2021. She entered the NFL's Officiating Development Program in 2014 before her mentor, Wayne Mackie (Former NFL's VP of Officiating Evaluation and Development), told her of her historic hire. Mackie died at 62 in March 2022.
Artenzia Young-Seigler has an undergraduate degree from Paul Quin College and graduate degree from Tennessee State University.
Desiree Abrams has a B.S. in Animal Science and MS in Animal Science-Pre Vet from Florida A&M University.
Greg Yette obtained a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Management from Howard University.
"This historic Week 11 crew is a testament to the countless and immeasurable contributions of Black officials to the game, their exemplary performance, and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game," Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of Football Operations.
On Nov. 23, 2020, during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams game, 17-year veteran referee Jerome Boger fielded an all-black officiating crew.
Credit: NFL
Boger's crew were Barry Anderson, umpire, 14-year NFL official; Anthony Jeffries, side judge, 3-year NFL official; Carl Johnson, line judge, 17-year NFL official; Julian Mapp, down judge, 12-year NFL official; Dale Shaw, field judge, 8-year NFL official; and Greg Steed, back judge, 18-year NFL official.
Troy Vincent noted, "This historic Week 11 crew is a testament to the countless and immeasurable contributions of Black officials to the game, their exemplary performance, and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game."
