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Tony Corrente | |
|---|---|
 Corrente in the 2013 NFL postseason. | |
| Born | (1951-11-12)November 12, 1951 (age 74) |
| Occupations | NFLofficial (1995–2021) Social sciencesteacher (La Mirada High School) |
Anthony Joseph Corrente (born November 12, 1951)[1] is a formerAmerican football official in theNational Football League (NFL) who served for 26 years from 1995 until his retirement in 2021.[2] He wore uniform number 99. He was the referee ofSuper Bowl XLI.[3] He served as the coordinator of football officiating for thePac-12 Conference from June 2011[4] until he resigned this position in October 2014.[5]
Corrente resides inLa Mirada, California.[2] He attendedCerritos College and then earned abachelor's degree fromCalifornia State University, Fullerton in 1975 and amaster's ineducation fromAzusa Pacific University in 1988. Outside of his NFL officiating duties, Tony formerly taughtsocial sciences at both William Neff andLa 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.
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 threeCalifornia 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 thePacific Coast Athletic Association (later renamed Big West Conference) where he officiated theFreedom andCalifornia Bowls. His last 6 years in the Big West was as a full-time Referee.[2] In 1991, Corrente joined the officiating staff of theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC) where he officiated theAlamo,Aloha, andRose Bowls.[2] Corrente 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 affect the outcome of Pac-12 standings.[5]
In 1995, Corrente was selected to become a member of the NFL officiating staff as a back judge (the title was changed to field judge in 1998) before being promoted to referee at the beginning of the1998 NFL season.[2] In his three seasons as a back judge, he worked two playoff games including the 1997NFC Championship Game.[2] Corrente also officiated inNFL Europe working theWorld Bowl in both 1995 (back judge) and 1998 (Referee).[2] In 1998, he became a referee afterDale Hamer returned to the head linesman (now down judge) position andGary Lane returned to the side judge position. Corrente worked the NFC Championship Game in 2001 between theMinnesota Vikings andNew York Giants atGiants Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, and the 2010AFC Championship Game between theNew York Jets and theIndianapolis Colts atLucas Oil Stadium inIndianapolis.[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 inSuper BowlsXL and50 and as Referee in Super Bowl XLI between theChicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts.
Corrente was treated forthroat cancer during the2011 NFL season. In the second half of the season opener atM&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 betweenMatt Birk andMichael Oher of theBaltimore Ravens andRyan Mundy andLaMarr Woodley of thePittsburgh 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 theUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.[6] Corrente was inactive from officiating during Weeks 13 through 15.[7] He was able to referee theNew Orleans Saints' 45–28 victory over theDetroit Lions in anNFC Wild Card match at theMercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2012.[8]
On November 4, 2012, Corrente yelled “God damn it!” (slipping past CBS censors) and other obscenities during theMiami Dolphins-Indianapolis Colts game.[9][10]Kevin Harlan ofCBS Sports apologized for this act.[11] Corrente apologized afterwards; he was fined a game check by the National Football League.[12]
Corrente was named as referee for the AFC Championship Game on January 19, 2014, in Denver between the Broncos and New England Patriots.[13]He was the referee of the January 18, 2015, NFC championship game between theSeattle Seahawks and theGreen Bay Packers. He was also the referee of the game known for theDouble Doink, the NFC Wild Card game on January 6, 2019, between thePhiladelphia Eagles andChicago Bears.
In aMonday Night Football game on November 8, 2021, between theChicago Bears andPittsburgh Steelers, Corrente faced controversy. On a third down play with 3:40 left in the game with the Steelers leading 23–20, Bears linebackerCassius Marsh sacked Steelers QuarterbackBen Roethlisberger which forced the Steelers to punt back to the Bears; however, Marsh was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct which gave the Steelers an automatic first down. Replays showed Marsh stared down the Steelers bench but never said a word which caused controversy. Replays also showed Corrente hip-checking Marsh when Marsh was heading back to his bench before throwing the flag which appeared to have been done on purpose by Corrente. The Steelers would eventually score a field goal to extend their lead and the penalty cost the Bears the win as the Steelers won 29–27. After the game, Marsh said that Corrente hip checking him was "incredibly inappropriate" while Corrente said that the contact between him and Marsh had nothing to do with that.[14]
On January 24, 2022, the NFL announced Corrente would be the official for the2022 Pro Bowl.[15]