Tony Corrente

Tony Corrente

Corrente in the 2013 NFL postseason.
Born (1951-11-12) November 12, 1951
Los Angeles County, California
Nationality  United States
Occupation NFL official (1995–Present)
Social sciences teacher (La Mirada High School)

Anthony Joseph "Tony" Corrente (born November 12, 1951)[1] is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1995 NFL season.[2] He wears uniform number 99. He was the referee of Super Bowl XLI.[3] He has also served as the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Pac-12 Conference since June 2011.[4] He resigned this position in October 2014.[5]

Personal

Corrente resides in La Mirada, California.[2] He has earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, Fullerton in 1975 and a master's in education from Azusa Pacific University in 1988. Outside of his NFL officiating duties, Tony formerly taught social sciences at both William Neff and La Mirada High Schools. He retired in 2011 and was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.[2] As a former baseball coach, his teams won the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section 3-A Championship in 1988 and were the runner-up for the same title in 1991.

Officiating career

Early years

Corrente began his officiating career in 1971 working high school and junior college level games as a member of the Long Beach and San Gabriel Valley Football Officials Associations.[2] Between 1971 and 1981, Corrente officiated three California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Championships and seven Junior College Bowl games as both a Referee and Back Judge.[2]

In 1981, he was appointed to the staff of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (later renamed Big West Conference) where he officiated the Freedom and California Bowls. His last 6 years in the Big West was as a full-time Referee.[2] In 1991, Corrente joined the officiating staff of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) where he officiated the Alamo, Aloha, and Rose Bowls.[2] Tony resigned as Commissioner of Officiating for the Pac-12 Conference October 8, 2014 citing personal and professional reasons. His resignation came on the heels of several dubious calls in marquee games by Pac-12 officials, claimed by some to adversely effect the outcome of Pac-12 standings.[5]

National Football League

In 1995, Tony was selected to become a member of the NFL officiating staff as a back judge before being promoted to referee at the beginning of the 1998 NFL season.[2] In his three seasons as a back judge, he worked two playoff games including the 1997 NFC Championship Game.[2] Tony also officiated in NFL Europe working the World Bowl in both 1995 (Back Judge) and 1998 (Referee).[2] In 1998, he became a referee after Dale Hamer returned to the head linesman position and Gary Lane returned to the side judge position. Corrente worked the NFC Championship Game in 2001 between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and the 2010 AFC Championship Game between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.[2] Since joining the NFL in 1995, Corrente has been involved in 13 post-season assignments including 3 AFC/NFC Championships and as the alternate Referee in Super Bowls XL and 50 and as Referee in Super Bowl XLI between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts.

Corrente was treated for throat cancer during the 2011 NFL season. In the second half of the season opener at M&T Bank Stadium on September 11, he sustained pain in his head, back and buttocks after being knocked backwards to the turf while trying to break up a skirmish between Matt Birk and Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens and Ryan Mundy and LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Based on advice from a former member of his officiating crew, Corrente took Motrin instead of Tylenol for pain relief following the match. Unaware of its antiplatelet effect, he experienced bouts of coughing up blood while continuing to use the drug for the following two weeks. After the discovery of a cancerous mass at the base of his tongue, he opted to eliminate the tumor through chemotherapy and radiation instead of having it surgically removed. The seven-week course was performed at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Corrente was inactive from officiating during Weeks 13 through 15.[6] He was able to referee the New Orleans Saints' 45–28 victory over the Detroit Lions in an NFC Wild Card match at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2012.[7]

On Sunday, November 4, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Corrente yelled “God damn it!” (slipping past CBS censors) and other obscenities during the Indianapolis Colts’ 23-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.[8] Kevin Harlan of CBS Sports apologized for this act.[9] Corrente apologized afterwards; he was fined a game check by the National Football League.[10]

Corrente was named as referee for the AFC Championship Game on January 19, 2014 in Denver between the Broncos and New England Patriots.[11] He was the referee of the January 18, 2015 NFC championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers.

Corrente's 2016 NFL officiating crew consists of umpire Dan Ferrell, head linesman Patrick Turner, line judge Bart Longson, field judge Buddy Horton, side judge Rob Vernatchi, and back judge Todd Prukop.[12]

References

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