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Athletes Around The Country React To First All African-American NFL Referee Crew

A bit of history is happening on Monday Night Football tonight. Today marks the first time in NFL history that an all African-American referee crew will be officiating. Athletes around the country have been reacting to this historic night on social media.

Many more people around the world of sports are sharing their best wishes for this moment in NFL history.


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Wayne Mackie, the NFL’s vice president of officiating evaluation and development spoke about having the first all-black officiating crew last week.

“I think we should celebrate it because it’s a testament of us standing on the shoulders of those who came before us,” Mackie said via The Undefeated. “We are standing on shoulders of giants who plowed their way through and had to deal with what they had to deal with to allow us, in 2020, to have an opportunity to go out there and officiate a football game. Hopefully we’re breaking down barriers where this doesn’t even become an issue or a conversation anymore.”

The NFL didn’t have a single African-American ref until 1964, when Burl Toler broke that initial barrier. I think most people can agree that while this is a significant step, progress should not stop here. We should continue to build on this moment.


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