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An all-Black NFL officiating crew should’ve happened a long time ago
The NFL did not have any Black officials until 1965 when Burl Toler Sr. was hired as head linesman. Toler was also the first African American to be a Super Bowl official. Yet, in the parallel universe of Black college football, there were hundreds of African American officials calling college games, working primarily in predominantly Black conferences such as the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. All they needed was a chance. The NFL banned Black players from 1934 to 1946. After that, aspiring Black players were victimized by quotas and then restricted from playing so-called “thinking positions,” chief among them quarterback. The NFL and all of the other pro leagues were made stronger by Black athletes. The influx of dynamic Black quarterbacks has transformed the position. Yet today, even with upward of 67% of its players being of African descent, the NFL has dragged its feet on hiring Black head coaches and executives.
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