Sarah Thomas (American football official)
Sarah Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | Sarah Bailey September 21, 1973 official (2015–present) |
Spouse | Brian Thomas (m. 2000)[1] |
Children | 3 |
Sarah Thomas (
Thomas was the first woman to officiate a major college football game, the first to officiate a
Personal life
Thomas was born in
Before becoming a referee, she worked as a pharmaceutical representative.[8]
She is married to Brian Thomas. They have three children together.[9] Thomas lives in Brandon, Mississippi.[10]
Officiating career
Early years
Thomas began her officiating career in 1996, when she attended a meeting of the Gulf Coast Football Officials Association. She worked her first varsity high school game in 1999.[5][11]
Conference USA
In 2006,
Bowl-game breakthrough
During the 2009 season, Thomas was one of five female officials in major college football and the only one at the
On November 12, 2011, Thomas became the first woman to officiate in a Big Ten stadium, working as a line judge when Northwestern hosted Rice.[14]
When asked about the challenges associated with being a football referee, Thomas claimed there have "not been any challenges" being a female in football and stated, "Everybody has been very professional, and they look at me just like another official", aiding in Thomas's defense to be viewed as equal to her colleagues.[7]
United Football League
Thomas has officiated United Football League games, and in 2010 worked the league championship game.
National Football League
In 2013, Thomas became one of 21 finalists in contention for a permanent NFL officiating position.[15] Thomas worked New Orleans Saints scrimmages,[16] and was part of the NFL officiating development program, spending three days at the Indianapolis Colts minicamp.
On April 8, 2015, the NFL announced that Thomas would become the first permanent female official in NFL history.[note 1][17] Thomas made her NFL regular season debut in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on September 13, 2015, as part of Pete Morelli's crew as the line judge.[18]
On December 24, 2016, Thomas broke her wrist in a mid-game collision on the sideline of a Vikings-Packers game. After being looked at for a brief concussion protocol, Thomas returned and finished the game with the broken wrist.[19]
In 2017, Thomas moved to the
Thomas is the first woman to earn an on-field assignment for an NFL playoff game. She was named to the crew for the game between the
Thomas was selected for the Super Bowl LV officiating crew and became the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl, also in the down judge position.[23]
Notes
- ^ a b Shannon Eastin was the first woman to officiate an NFL game as a temporary non-union official during the 2012 NFL referee lockout.
References
- ^ "SPORTS VICTORIES—Sarah Thomas: Believer, Wife, Mom, and NCAA Football Official". mschristianliving.com. February 21, 2014. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ Stephenson, Creg (May 23, 2014). "NFL: Pascagoula native Sarah Bailey Thomas not among 12 new officials hired for 2014". The Mississippi Press. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ Rockwell, Curtis (August 15, 2015). "NFL history was made Saturday night, and Pascagoula's Sarah Thomas was part of it". The Mississippi Press. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ Filipe, Cameron (June 3, 2020). "Officiating crews for the 2020 season". Football Zebras. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Drape, Joe (September 18, 2009). "Earning Her Stripes in College Football". New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- ^ "Pascagoula Woman Seeks Title of First Permanent Female NFL Official". Harald-Index. August 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Meet Sarah Thomas, NFL's first female official". ESPN.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ Swinton, Elizabeth. "Five Things to Know About Sarah Thomas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ Bicks, Emily. "Is Sarah Thomas Married? NFL Ref Has 3 Kids With Husband Brian Thomas". Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ McHugh, Rich (August 1, 2013). "Sarah Thomas Poised to Make NFL History as 1st Full-Time Referee". ABC News.
- ^ a b c Walker, Teresa M. (November 27, 2009). "Thomas shows the way for female referees". Associated Press, via allbusiness.com. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Thomas will become first female referee in top tier of college football", September 14, 2007, from the AP newswire, via ESPN.com. Accessed February 1, 2021.
- ^ "At Pizza Bowl, Thomas 1st woman to officiate bowl", from the AP newswire, via Yahoo! Sports, accessed December 27, 2009.
- ^ Hilbert, Evan (November 12, 2011). "Sarah Thomas Becomes First Woman To Officiate In Big Ten Stadium". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ McHugh, Rich (August 1, 2013). "Sarah Thomas Poised to Make NFL History as 1st Full-Time Referee". ABC News.
- ^ Busby, Renee (October 1, 2009). "University of Mobile alum first woman to referee I-A football". Al.com. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- ^ "NFL makes Sarah Thomas first full-time female official". NFL.com. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
- ^ Kerkhoff, Blair (September 13, 2015). "Sarah Thomas works Chiefs-Texans in first regular-season NFL game". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ "NFL line judge Sarah Thomas takes big hit on sideline, tries to shake it off". Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ Austro, Ben (June 16, 2017). ""NFL has a new name for the head linesman position: down judge"". Football Zebras. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- ^ "2019 NFL playoffs: Sarah Thomas to become first female official in postseason game". Sporting News. January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ King, Peter (February 4, 2019). "How the NFL got all those players in on that Super Bowl commercial". MSN Sports. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "NFL Names Super Bowl LV Officiating Crew; Carl Cheffers Referee". NFL Football Operations. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.