NFL Agony: Las Vegas raiders experiences shocking nightmare’ against Ravens despite victory” As match official struggles for Life in a horrible display…
A chain crew operator went down on the sidelines during the second quarter of Sunday’s NFL game between Baltimore and Las Vegas, resulting in a medical emergency.
An update was made on Baltimore’s X account stating that the unidentified operator was transferred to a local hospital after the Ravens medical staff promptly performed CPR on him.
A member of the chain gang crew collapsed. He was immediately attended to by medical personnel. Upon leaving the field, he was alert and responsive. He’s being taken to a local hospital,” the Ravens’ message read.
The official was tended to for several minutes on the field before being moved to a stretcher and raising a resilient hand to the crowd, drawing cheers from around M&T Bank Stadium. Numerous players from both teams, including star Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, removed their helmets and took a kneel near the fallen official before returning to play.
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh lauded the EMS team that responded to the collapsed official as “heroes” during his post-game media availability Sunday. The veteran head coach added he was “grateful” for the positive health update on the chain operator, calling him “a great person.”
Chain crew officials, known commonly as part of the “chain gang,” operate on the sidelines of NFL games, responsible for managing the pair of 10-yard markers that indicate the line to gain for a first down. These workers are considered part-time employees by the NFL and are paid minimum wage, a dynamic that the league has relied on since its inception in 1920.
However, the NFL is currently considering major changes to this antiquated distance measurement system, removing the “chain crew” from 2024 preseason games in favor of Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology. The intricate system of cameras is able to accurately spot the ball within half an inch and subverts the often-inaccurate process of sideline officials attempting to judge where a ball had crossed the first-down marker.
We’re in the installation phase for all of our stadiums, really getting them calibrated and up to date,” said Brantley, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief information officer. “We’re just really getting to a place where this system is as accurate as possible and really calibrating across our multiple stadiums. … We have multiple stadiums with multiple dimensions inside of those stadiums with different age. So we’re really just going through the installation of putting in the infrastructure and making sure these cameras are installed.”
Hawk-Eye technology could be used as early as the 2025 season following this season’s preseason test run. Nonetheless, the “chain gang” might carry on with their current responsibilities, providing supporters with a visual cue regarding the first-down line.
