January 18th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
18-year NFL official Mike Carey, according to Dave Goldberg of the Associated Press, was notified by the National Football League office that he had been given the referee assignment for the Super Bowl, which takes place February 3 at Mesa, AZ. Carey, with his appointment, would be the first African-American referee in Super bowl history.
Super Bowl officials are selected by merit, with the highest ranked at each position getting the assignment; Carey has consistently been among the top NFL crew chiefs for more than a decade and has previously been a Super Bowl alternate, but has never been a referee for the game.
