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Fox Sports: Carey will be Super Bowl's first black referee


sens11

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http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7695316

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Mike Carey will become the first black referee in Super Bowl history.

Carey, in his 18th year as an official, was notified by the National Football League office this week he had the assignment for the Feb. 3 game in Glendale, Ariz. The NFL will not officially announce the assignments until the week of the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl officials are chosen on merit, with the highest ranked at each position getting the assignment. Carey, who runs a skiing accessories company, has been among the NFL's top crew chiefs for a decade and has been a Super Bowl alternate, but has never been the referee.

Black officials have been increasing in number over the years. This season there were 26 on the 17 crews, a single-season high. They also have been well-represented in the Super Bowl at other officiating spots. Among them was Burl Toler, a former player who worked several early games.

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I wish we would stop making these things more important than they really are. First black coach in SB, first black MVP, first black wide receiver who makes a one-handed catch in the Super Bowl. Respect their accomplishments because of what they did, not because they happen to be black.

BTW, he might be good, but does he annoy anybody else by how dramatic he is when making his calls?

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I wish we would stop making these things more important than they really are. First black coach in SB, first black MVP, first black wide receiver who makes a one-handed catch in the Super Bowl. Respect their accomplishments because of what they did, not because they happen to be black.

Nothing wrong with marking progress and acknowledging it...

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I wish we would stop making these things more important than they really are. First black coach in SB, first black MVP, first black wide receiver who makes a one-handed catch in the Super Bowl. Respect their accomplishments because of what they did, not because they happen to be black.

You forgot to mention the first black Janitor for an NFL stadium.

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yeah but it shouldnt be a "progression" anymore, best man for the job, period. Regardless of race or any other uncontrolable distinction.

Since this is the first time there will be a black referee in the 42 years of the Super Bowl, by definition it is "progression"...

Besides, it's just a 6-7 line blurb written up by the AP...a statement of facts. It's not like a ticker tape parade or statue being put up in his honor or something. He's not being placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's an AP blurb.

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I wish we would stop making these things more important than they really are. First black coach in SB, first black MVP, first black wide receiver who makes a one-handed catch in the Super Bowl. Respect their accomplishments because of what they did, not because they happen to be black.

BTW, he might be good, but does he annoy anybody else by how dramatic he is when making his calls?

I'd venture to say you aren't black, am I right? :laugh:

Nobody is making a big deal out of this except you. I only asked how it took 42 Super Bowls? That seems kind of odd in this day and age. God damn, segregation ended 50 years ago. It still (obviously) has a freshness to it. I doubt people making the ref decisions were racists...but no black guy was a good enough ref to be in the Super Bowl? That's pretty out there.

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Since this is the first time there will be a black referee in the 42 years of the Super Bowl, by definition it is "progression"...

Besides, it's just a 6-7 line blurb written up by the AP...a statement of facts. It's not like a ticker tape parade or statue being put up in his honor or something. He's not being placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's an AP blurb.

i'm not getting upset with any posters, i'm getting upset that we (not necessarily es posters but the NFL) should be past all this. If in fact there was not an African American referee in the SB before this because of the color of his skin, then there is a serious problem within the NFL. I dont know how they come to the conclusion of who Refs the playoffs and superbowl and it wouldnt hurt to look. I would imagine there is some kind of grading system or something i dont know?

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Not really - the media made a story about it, and somebody started a thread about it.

Ah yes, isolated stories and message board threads. The next million man march.

IMO, this is a streak that's coming to a good end. It's worth noting and if it takes up too much time and energy to read about this sort of thing, move the cursor of your mouse to the next story or thread.

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Ah yes, isolated stories and message board threads. The next million man march.

No offense, but seriously, if you're going to engage in a serious debate, then omit the sarcastic exaggerations, and stick with the facts.

It's worth noting and if it takes up too much time and energy to read about this sort of thing, move the cursor of your mouse to the next story or thread.

Take a look around the forum, and in every single thread you'll see a combination of supporters of the premise, and those who disagree.

So you're saying that those who disagree with the thread should just "stay out" ?

It ain't realistic.

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i'm not getting upset with any posters, i'm getting upset that we (not necessarily es posters but the NFL) should be past all this. If in fact there was not an African American referee in the SB before this because of the color of his skin, then there is a serious problem within the NFL. I dont know how they come to the conclusion of who Refs the playoffs and superbowl and it wouldnt hurt to look. I would imagine there is some kind of grading system or something i dont know?

I don't think it was because of the color of his skin...actually I didn't pick up the vibe from the article that it was insinuating that it might have been. I think, IMO, this story is being treated in a very matter-of-fact way, which is also a measure of progress...

For example, at some point in the future we'll have the first black owner of an NFL franchise, and the first black commissioner. I imagine big deals will be made of both because of the immense power that goes along with both. There will be numerous speculation articles about how these "firsts" may have an effect in the future of the league, what it means to black fans of the NFL, etc, etc, etc...and precisely because of the power that goes along with owning a franchise and being the commish, it would be warranted.

But what if they treated those two milestones in exactly the same way as they are treating the far, FAR less important milestone of "first black referee in the Super Bowl"? Would we say they deserved more coverage and more important discussion? Would we say a few lines in an AP story is still too much coverage, that it shouldn't have been mentioned at all? Somewhere in between?

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And we won't have to talk about it anymore when there stops being so many "firsts" in so many areas of this society.

There's millions of different job types in this country.

The question is, where do we draw the line ?

When every one of those millions of jobs has it's first ?

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IMO real progress will be made when we don't have to talk about it anymore. and it is no longer news and when a referee is a referee no matter white, black, blue or green.

It seems like, even after it's evident that we've made sufficient progress, that people will still make an issue out of it, just because they have their own agenda

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The problem I have is that this kind of stuff is only brought up when African-Americans are involved. Do they ever say that he is the first non African -American NFL player to accomplish something. If a white WR comes tomorrow and breaks a record earlier held by an African-American player, will they say he is the first white person to break this record? I don't think so.

Point being that being first is only brought up when minorities are involved and that negates the accomplishment in itself.

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