His Name Is...

Gerald Austin, former NFL official, now works with college football, hiring and training referees. He heard about a ref who was really doing well from a friend, and said, "Ok, what's his name?"

The answer came back: "His name is Sarah."

You know about Sarah Thomas if you pay any attention to the NFL. As the league's first female referee, she has achieved nationwide acclaim. But the important thing is: she didn't just ride into the league on a head of cabbage and get the job. 

Pro sports rewards officials with playoff game assignments if they have done a great job all year, and that's how Sarah Thomas, 47, wound up as a down judge at the Super Bowl. 

“She was emotional when she was telling me (about the assignment),”  Austin told the New York Post. “And the first thing I told her was: ‘Look, you’ve worked hard. You’ve had obstacles to overcome, and you’ve earned it. Don’t let anybody tell you differently.’ ”

“I say that all the time people think that Sarah Thomas just arrived on April 8 of 2015, but there’s so much more to my story, and that’s like with anyone,” Thomas told a podcast two years ago. “Every one of us have a story, and yes, I’m sitting here talking about all the good stuff. I mean, there’s been many valleys that I’ve gone through.”

She's from Mississippi, played basketball in college, and got into officiating football through her older brother, working her way up from youth leagues to middle school to high school to college ball. Her brother told her that being female might cause her to be under undue attention. Her reply?  “I was like, ‘It’s all right; I can handle it.’ ”

She worked while pregnant. She worked while holding down another job in pharmaceutical sales. She came to a crossroads, decided to stay with officiating, and she and her husband Brian worked out the schedule.  “I wasn’t going to stand in her way,” he says of juggling two jobs and three children. “We’ve figured out a way to make our schedule work for the kids. I’m hustling in the fall, and she is in the spring and summer.”

Here's one reason you noticed Sarah more this year, a very simple wardrobe matter. The NFL chose to allow officials to wear snapback caps this past season, instead of the fitted caps. With no need to tuck that hair up under her hat, she let that ponytail fly!

Those who expected the world to fall off its axis because they gave a woman a whistle and a penalty flag were shocked to find a woman who prepared for her chance, worked for the chance, and was ready when it came!

Good for her!