OFFICIAL’S FIRING AN NFL FIRST

The NFL fired down judge Hugo Cruz Thursday for inadequate performance, two people familiar with the firing told The Associated Press. Cruz was in his fourth season as an NFL official. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced the move. Cruz, a part of referee Carl Cheffers’ crew, was involved in a missed call in the Chargers-Browns game that led to a Los Angeles touchdown Oct. 14. Chargers tackle Russell Okung false-started on the play and nothing was called. But he was fired for his overall work over a sustained period, not just for one specific play. The NFL Referees Association said it would challenge the firing. Cruz’s firing was first reported by FootballZebras.com, a website dedicated to officiating, which said it’s the first in-season firing by the league of an official because of performance in the Super Bowl era.