DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Detroit native who once walked the halls of Cody High School is now on football's biggest stage.
Shawn Smith, a Cody High School alum, wrapped up his 11th season as an NFL official earlier this month when he served as the head referee for Super Bowl 60.
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"Cody has meant a lot to me, it's just who I am," Smith said.
Smith was a football and track athlete at Cody before going on to play collegiate sports at Eastern Michigan University. He later transferred to Ferris State University.
"Where I didn't play football again. I shifted to track and then became an all-conference runner in the GLIAC," Smith said.
During high school and college, Smith was introduced to officiating intramural and recreational sports as a way to earn extra money. After earning his degree, he stepped away from officiating, but a conversation with a fellow referee brought him back.
"He said, 'Well why don't you get back into it?' and well maybe that might not be a bad idea," Smith said.
Smith began officiating high school football before eventually working his way up to the Division 1 and Division 2 collegiate levels. Then, in 2015, he received a life-changing opportunity.
"Pick up the phone, it's the NFL and they say 'Hey we want to bring you in. Are you excited?'" Smith said. "At that time, it was a position I had never worked before, but I was so ecstatic."
Smith has worked as an NFL official for 11 seasons, 8 of them as a referee. This season, he led the Super Bowl officiating crew — an honor only 3 Black referees before him have ever held.
"To be the fourth to ever have that honor, it's huge. Being one of the first from Michigan or just being one of the first to Detroit to ever do it," Smith said.
Smith admitted the big game came with some extra nerves.
"I did get a little bit nervous for the coin toss and I've told many folks that once I got past the coin toss, I knew I was going to be OK," Smith said.
Off the field, Smith works full time as an auditor — a career he says shares more in common with officiating than people might expect.
"Most folks don't want to see an auditor come and most folks don't care about refereeing. But one of the things we do is we have to be objective, we have to be independent, we have to be disciplined in our craft," Smith said.
Smith is also encouraging young people to pick up a whistle and give officiating a try.
"It helps build a lot of character and discipline and things that can carry you forward in life," Smith said.
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