NFL reportedly hires Sarah Thomas as first female game official

Sarah Thomas
(Image credit: Screenshot)

The NFL has hired its first female official in Sarah Thomas, according to reports from the Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson. Thomas has been in the league's "pipeline for a while," Dean Blandino, the NFL's VP of officiating, said in 2013. CBS Sports notes that she was the first female to officiate an NCAA football game, back in 2007, and has since worked NFL preseason games and training camps, in an effort to adjust to the league's speed.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.