934: Sarah Thomas
Sports Fan Who has Kept Her Life Involved in a Number of Different Games
Born: 21 September 1973, Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States of America
In 2009, Sarah became the first woman to officiate a bowl game (college football).
In 2011, she became the first woman to work in a Big Ten stadium.
In 2015, Sarah was hired by the NFL making her the first female official to call professional football games (as in multiple). She’s also the first female NFL employee to be a full-time official and the only female official hired for the 2020/2021 season.
Sarah is not the first woman to officiate an NFL game, however. That honor goes to Shannon Eastin, who called a game in 2012 during the NFL Referees Association lockout in 2012.
Sarah also works as a pharmaceutical representative and is a mother to three.
In January of 2021, news broke that Sarah will be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl game.
Sources:
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-female-referee-sarah-thomas/114uw3bkmy0001hecsxvualx4w
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/12669370/meet-sarah-thomas-first-female-nfl-official-referee