Sarah Thomas becomes NFL's first full-time female official

Sarah Thomas
(Image credit: Screenshot)

The NFL on Wednesday confirmed that Sarah Thomas will become the first full-time female official in the league's history. Reports last week suggested the NFL would make Thomas — a 19-year veteran who broke the NCAA's gender barrier in 2007 — the first on-field female official, though the league declined to comment at the time. Thomas worked preseason NFL games this year, and will start off as a line judge with the opportunity to advance up the refereeing ranks.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.