All eyes will be on Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes on Sunday, but it will be impossible to write the 2020 Super Bowl story without a # 53 wearing stripes. When Sarah Thomas steps on the field as the Down Judge, she will be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl.
When 47-year-old Thomas found out about her historic assignment, he called the man who made her first for the College.
« She was emotional when she told me, » Gerald Austin, former NFL official and US conference director, told The Post. « And the first thing I said to her was, » Look, you worked hard. They had obstacles to overcome and they deserved it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’m proud of you.’ «
It was a relatively meteoric rise for Thomas, a Mississippi American native and mother of two teenage boys and a young daughter. She entered the league in 2015 and became the first full-time female official. She continues to have gender-specific Breaking barriers across sport. In 2019, she directed her first NFL playoff game.
« I say people keep thinking Sarah Thomas just arrived on April 8th, 2015, but my story has so much more to offer and it’s like any other, « she told Bridge the Gap, a podcast focusing on healthcare. » Each of us has a story and yes, I sit here and talk about it all the good stuff. I mean, there have been a lot of valleys that I’ve been through. «
She was born into a sports family. Her paternal uncle was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and her aunt Jill Upton coached the 1973 USA World University Games basketball team, which included legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Thomas who has two brothers played college hoops at the University of Mobile (Ala.) and then joined a local men’s league, but after three years she said she got the boot because she was female, at the time her older was running it Brother found high school soccer and convinced her to attend a meeting with him. But there was a warning.
She said her brother told her, « Sister, these are some old men who, in their own way You’re going to get some strange looks. « I thought, » It’s okay. I can handle it. ‘ «
The man in charge asked if she was someone’s wife and then tried to get her to officiate woman tires. But Thomas, who was also a pharmaceutical salesman, dug into her heels and started wearing crosswalks in 1996, and directed her first varsity game in 1999.
She even continued through two pregnancies, working around the clock, one Off-field position, which was still accredited. But around the decade or so, according to the podcast, she considered giving it up.
Austin, who officiates three Super Bowls, first heard the name Sarah Thomas from another former NFL official, Joe Haynes, who was a scout. </ "He said," I have an officer you should look at, "Austin said." I said, "What's his name?"
At Haynes’ recommendation, Austin hired Thomas after a 45 minute interview . He also wanted to see Thomas in the field, so he took her to a camp in Reno, Nev.
« I saw her work in that camp. Of the 18 people in her position, I had her in the top three. She had what I call CFS: common sense. You can’t teach that. She just needed some college experience, « said Austin, who has remained a mentor.
She got exactly that in 2007 when Austin assigned her to a game in Jacksonville State-Memphis, which made her the first woman to worked on a major college football game. But Thomas, who now works in marketing at 360 Total Rehab in Mississippi, flinched when Austin gave her some beauty advice.
« I remember him telling me to put my hair under my hat and then little or no makeup at all, and I told Gerald he would cross the line with makeup, « she said with a laugh. Even though she understood that he wanted her to fly under the radar, she tucked her hair into a fitted hat. (Now she wears a snapback hat with a pulled through ponytail).
Her colleague Lee Catherine Collins said this was a symbol of Thomas – whom she describes as « hilarious, capable and down to earth. »
« I still have her never seen without makeup, « Collins told the Post. “She’s definitely the perfect mix of very girlish and tough. You can tell she grew up with boys. She can take someone down and then talk about eyelash extensions. “
She also proved her toughness in 2016 when she broke her wrist during a Vikings Packers matchup and returned to quit the game.
» I’ve seen other officials put her on – or twice and she is very competitive, « Austin said. “She’s one of the guys, and I think that’s a fair way to describe her.” Overall, Austin and her colleagues are overwhelmingly proud. Collins said the company made a tribute video to air during the big game’s local broadcast.
« She will likely die if she knew I said that, but she’s an inspiration to girls. She works hard and we have to celebrate the whole person, « said Collins.
» I never set out to be the first, « she said. “But when I know the effects I have not only on my daughter, but on young girls everywhere, women everywhere, when I get into this field and take it all in, I know that I probably have a little tears in my eyes will . ”
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