Ronald Torbert is an

American football official In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division I ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He has been an official since the

2010 NFL season The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League and the 45th of the Super Bowl era. The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orle ...

. He wears uniform number 62.

Early life

Torbert graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

earning a

Juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

Career

Torbert began his NFL officiating career in 2010 as a side judge before becoming a referee in the

2014 NFL season The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 49th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the National Football League Kickoff game, annual kickoff ga ...

after Scott Green and

Ron Winter Ronald J. Winter (born February 6, 1946) is a retired American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1995 through 2013 seasons. Winter previously served as a football official for the National Collegiate ...

announced they were retiring. Torbert is one of only eight African-American referees in NFL history, after

Johnny Grier Johnny Grier (April 16, 1947 – March 8, 2022) was an American football official for 23 years in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 2004. He began in the NFL as a field judge before becoming the first African-American referee in th ...

, Mike Carey,

Jerome Boger Jerome Leonard Boger ( ; born July 1, 1955) is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2004 NFL season. He has worn uniform number 23 since 2006; before that, he wore uniform number 109. He started in the l ...

, and Don Carey; he preceded Shawn Smith, Adrian Hill, and Tra Blake. Torbert was the alternate referee for

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

. He is also featured in the NFL 100 year anniversary video which aired during that Super Bowl. On January 25, 2022, Torbert was named the referee for

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

2022 crew

* R: Ron Torbert * U: Mark Pellis * DJ: Max Causey * LJ: Tim Podraza * FJ: Ryan Dickson * SJ: Keith Washington * BJ: Tony Josselyn * RO: Denise Crudup * RA: Gerald Frye

Personal life

Outside of his NFL officiating job, Torbert is an attorney, as is his fellow referee

Clete Blakeman Cletus W. Blakeman (born June 23, 1964) is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL). His uniform number is 34. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Outside of his work as an NFL official, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbert, Ronald Living people National Football League officials Michigan State University alumni African-American sports officials Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard Law School alumni 21st-century African-American people