A woman poised to make football history as the NFL’s first female official is training at the New Orleans Saints practice facility this week.
Sarah Thomas, a 40-year-old Mississippi mother of three, arrived at the Saints training camp in Metairie, La., Thursday and trained there yesterday as part of the NFL’s Officiating Development Program. She was set to work today’s scrimmage.
A former college basketball player who lives near Jackson, Miss., Thomas has been officiating college football with Conference USA since 2007. She began refereeing high-school games at age 23 but says she never dreamed then that she’d become a finalist to officiate in the NFL.
“I don’t feel a weight on my shoulders. It’s exciting,” Thomas said, according to Fox Sports Southwest. “I didn’t set out to be the first or a pioneer, but I will embrace it if that does happen.”
She has trained at Saints camp before, and team coach Sean Payton says she does “a great job.”
Saints QB Drew Brees supports the idea of a female ref, saying women are “as qualified as anybody who’s out there.”
Thomas, who would likely get the permanent ref post in 2014, says she’s treated like any other ref.
“I really don’t feel like I get harsher treatment of any sort,” she said. “The coaches and the players, it’s their job. The players want to win. It’s competitive, the heat of the moment, spirit of the game. If I make a call or I miss a call, they express it and the coaches express it, and we’re on to the next play.”
Thomas played hoops at Alabama’s University of Mobile and became the first woman to referee a Division I-A high-school football game in Mississippi in 1996. She has made more waves since, officiating a pair of Senior Bowls.
“The guys that I officiate with, it’s a profession,” Thomas said. “They understand that we’re all there for the same goal, to get through the game, go unnoticed, be uneventful, and so I don’t ever feel like I’m isolated or anything. I’ve been welcomed and part of the group.”
Off the field, she works as a pharmaceutical rep. She and husband Brian have two boys, 12 and 9, and a 7-month-old girl.
Thomas’ refereeing has won her rave reviews.
“She’s done a great job,” Payton said. “You really don’t notice or pay attention to it, and if you do, it’s just because it may be the first time you see a female official.”