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. pic.twitter.com/gy1XY5hDeF
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) December 14, 2023
“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.
