Four National Football League officials worked two separate games on Sunday after national travel disruptions forced emergency schedule changes across the league.
Referee Don Willard, umpire Terry Killens, line judge Jabir Walker, and side judge Justin Larrew officiated the early game between the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts at 1:00 p.m. ET in Indianapolis before driving 110 miles to Cincinnati for the evening matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals at 8:20 p.m. ET, RDS reported.
The revised assignments formed part of a broader league plan to reposition officials to games located within a reasonable driving distance of their homes. Willard, who normally works as a line judge, took on the referee duties for both contests. The league announced the unusual double assignments on Sunday morning, adding Killens, Walker, and Larrew to Willard’s crew.
The travel crisis stemmed from a national ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. U.S. airlines spent the weekend recovering from the longest national flight paralysis in 25 years, which led to more than 2,000 canceled flights, global travel delays, and stranded passengers. The disruption forced professional and collegiate sports teams to scramble for alternative transportation methods.
The nationwide ground stop resulted from the integration of new technology into the country’s air traffic control system, which triggered communication failures and intermittent outages. The stoppage marked only the second time such a nationwide freeze has occurred since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Each of the league’s 17 officiating crews maintains a designated alternate referee who trains throughout the year to step into the primary referee role whenever necessary.
The back-to-back assignments required precise coordination as Willard, Killens, Walker, and Larrew completed their duties at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis before making the trek down Interstate 74 to Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati to close out the Sunday night schedule.
