The NFL Is Hiring Their First Female Referee (Maybe)

According to multiple media outlets, the NFL plans on hiring its first woman official, Sarah Thomas. Though the NFL has not officially confirmed Thomas? hiring, an anonymous source told the Los Angeles Times that with four league officials from the 2014 season retiring, the NFL revealed to current league officials its intention to hire seven men and one woman for the 2015 season. Aaron Wilson first broke the story in the Baltimore Sun?yesterday. Since then speculation among multiple media outlets, including foxsports.com and sbnation.com, have been covering the story and background of Thomas.

first female ref nfl
Photo Courtesy of 6abc.com

Hailing from rural Mississippi, Thomas is no stranger to the sports world. She played college basketball at the University of Mobile. After graduation she joined a men’s team on a church league. She began her career as a high school referee in 1999. When asked about her image as a ?pioneer,? for women in officiating positions in the NFL, Thomas explained:

“I set out to do this and get involved in officiating not having any idea that there were not any females officiating football. Being a former basketball player, you saw female[s] officiating all the time. So no, I don’t feel like a pioneer.?

Though beginning her career in basketball, Thomas later began working for Conference USA in 2007 after meeting Gerald Austin, who hired her. Thomas has noted the biggest challenges in her adjustment between officiating NCAA and NFL games has been speed.

“The speed, yes, is there, these are just phenomenal athletes on both sides of the ball. The game has a tendency to slow down the (more) snaps you get and repetition. So, hopefully, the more snaps I get, things will start slowing down a little bit.”

Thomas has been working with the NFL’s Officiating Development Program and officiated a preseason game last season. Her future with the league looks promising, as does the league’s future with its female fan base.

Beleaguered by a recent string of domestic violence incidents, the NFL has actively attempted to?improve its image as ?female-friendly.? According to Nielsen data, women make up nearly 33 percent of the NFL fan base, and that number is likely to grow.?However, hiring a full-time female official for the first time ever isn’t just a PR move, it is move in the right direction for the league and in the right direction for women.

 

Pat Shannon was raised in the rural Pacific Northwest, and currently loves international travel. Pat believes that open and calm discourse combined with an educated and well-informed populous is the recipe for a healthy society.