Lance Easley

Lance Easley is an American football official who served as a replacement referee in the National Football League (NFL) during the 2012 NFL referee lockout. Easley is best known for his controversial ruling on the final play of the 2012 Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks game on September 24, 2012.
Officiating career
Prior to being hired as a replacement official for the 2012 NFL season, Easley had 11 years of officiating experience for high school and junior college basketball and football games in the Central Coast region of California.
Controversial Call
On September 24, 2012, during a Monday Night Football game between the visiting Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Easley made two rulings, the latter of which directly impacted the outcome of the game.
In the 4th quarter, with Green Bay leading 12-7, Seattle faced a 1st down and 25 yards to go. Quarterback Russell Wilson passed downfield, and Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields leaped in front of the receiver, knocking the ball away as the receiver tried to catch the ball while reaching over Shield's back and grabbing Shield's face mask. A flag was thrown by Easley for defensive pass interference, despite the defender being in position and making a play on the ball in front of the receiver and the receiver grabbing the defender's face mask. The result was an automatic 32 yards and a 1st down, extending a drive that eventually pinned Green Bay deep inside their own territory.

6 game minutes later, on the final play of the game, Wilson tossed a Hail Mary towards the end zone in a last ditch attempt to win the game. Receiver Golden Tate illegally pushed Shields to the ground, and leaped for the pass. Green Bay defender M. D. Jennings also jumped for the ball. No pass interference penalty was called on Tate. Neither player at any time had sole possession of the ball during their descent to the ground. Per the NFL Rule Book under Simultaneous Catch: "If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers." . The NFL rule book does not elaborate beyond this. Specifically, the rule book does not get into percentages of possession (whether Player A or B has 'more' possession of a Simultaneous Catch).
Both players fell to the ground. Easley, along with veteran NCAA Division 1 referee and professional Arena Football referee Derrick Rhone-Dunn, converged on the play. Rhone-Dunn signaled to stop the clock, and Easley signaled touchdown, giving Seattle the victory.
The play was reviewed by replay officials, who determined that there was not sufficient video evidence to overturn the call.

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