Who are these replacement refs?
The referee that led the officiating crew of Monday night’s debacle at the end of Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks game appears to be a respected realtor from Austin.
But, like most of the rest of his crew, Wayne Elliott doesn’t have much big-game experience, something that became evident on the final play of game as the Seahawks appeared to be unjustifiably awarded a touchdown in a 14-12 victory at CenturyLink Field.
The NFL hasn’t released the background of any of the replacement referees who are standing in for the locked-out regulars. Five of the seven in Monday’s game, coincidently, reside in Texas. Two members of the crew were purportedly also former referees from the Lingerie Football League, although messages seeking their identities were not immediately returned.
Here’s information FOXSports.com compiled on each official involved:
Referee Wayne Elliott
Age: 54
Residence: Austin
Occupation: Realtor
Officiating background: Referees high school games, officiates pro indoor football games and serves as secretary of the Austin Football Officials Association.
Back judge Derrick Rhone-Dunn
Age: 44
Residence: Oklahoma City
Occupation: Unknown
Officiating background: A former Big 12 referee, who was on the crew for the 2007 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. He also has experience officiating in the Arena Football League.
Side judge Lance Easley
Age: 52
Residence: Santa Maria, Calif.
Occupation: Vice President of Small Business Banking at Bank of America
Officiating background: Officiates high school and junior college football and basketball games.
Umpire Marc Harrod
Age: 43
Residence: Corpus Christi, Texas
Occupation: Police officer
Officiating background: A news release sent by the Corpus Christi Police Department said Harrold is "an experienced referee at the college level and has recently been trained to officiate in the NFL."
Head linesman Mike Peek
Age: 62
Residence: Athens, Texas
Occupation: Business instructor at Trinity Valley Community College (Athens, Texas).
Officiating background: Served as a replacement official in the last referee lockout in 2001. He's also a frormer official in the Southland Conference, a Division I FCS league.
Line judge Tommy Keeling
Age: 62
Residence: Plano, Texas.
Occupation: Manager at a defense contracting firm.
Officiating background: Former Big 12 and United Football League official. Was part of a crew that officiated the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl.
Field judge Richard Simmons
Age: Unknown.
Residence: Somewhere in Texas.
Occupation: Unknown.
Officiating background: Serves as an official in Texas for high school games.
Replay official Howard Slavin
Age: 70
Residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: Trial lawyer
Officiating background: Served as a side judge in the NFL from 1987-1999. He’s been a replay official since 1999.
Sources: FOXSports.com research, The Santa Maria Times, Slate.com, bobgretz.com, The Austin American-Statesman, The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News.
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