NFL replacement ref Lance Easley: “I made the right call”
Lance Easley — the National Football League replacement ref who made the TD call during Monday night’s Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks game — says that he stands by his decision, claiming “It was the correct call.”
In an interview with media outlet TMZ, Lance Easley told the site he cannot believe he is being denounced following the result of the football game. Easley said, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The NFL replacement ref argues that the Green Bay Packers player who allegedly intercepted the ball never had singular possession because, “You have to not only have the ball but have either 2 feet or a body part on the ground, and that never happened.”
Lance Easley also said that it was clearly a case of simultaneous possession, which means the catch goes to the offensive player. “Put any other official who knows the rules and they would make the same call,” Easley said.
The replacement ref also said that no one has ever seen a play like this before, so there is no point of reference to judge the call. Easley said, “I don’t appreciate the negative stuff.”
Lance Easley explains he feels like he’s become a sacrificial lamb, who had to “fall on the sword.”
Easley — who refs at El Camino and Pierce Junior Colleges as well as Occidental, all in Southern California — says the replacement refs did what they were expected to do.
“We did a damn good job … for the most part,” he concluded.
In 2012, Lance Easley served as an NFL replacement official for all four weeks of the preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season. Prior to working for the NFL, Easley had 11 years of officiating experience for high school and junior college football games in the Central Coast region of California.