Working as the side judge Monday night, the longtime Southern California high school and junior college official signaled the winning catch by receiver Golden Tate in the Seattle Seahawks' last-play, 14-12 win against the Green Bay Packers -- a call the world believes he blew by turning an obvious interception into a touchdown. But why was he in the NFL? He wasn't deemed good enough to become a Division I college official this summer, according to Karl Richins and his staff of Division I college officials at Stars and Stripes Academy for Football Officials in Salt Lake City. "I got to know Lance at a June academy I worked at in Reno and when he came to my academy in July," Richins said. "He's a very polite, good Christian gentleman, a good father to his son, Daniel, who was at my academy as well. But was Lance ready to work at the NFL level? Absolutely not."
Richins' staff determined that Easley, vice president of small business banking at Bank of America in Santa Maria, Calif., wasn't ready for Division I, the highest level of college officiating, never mind the much faster NFL game. Richins said the biggest mistake Easley made was agreeing to become a replacement official in the first place. He said Easley had never officiated at a level higher than Division III and never voiced a desire to reach the NFL.