The NFL has never ventured into having females as officials, but it looks like that is about to change. NFL V.P. of Officiating Carl Johnson told Jane McManus of ESPN.com that he expects to hire a female official.
“We have some in our pipeline, and I expect we’ll see it soon,” Johnson said.
Pro Football Talk had some speculation on who exactly may be the first to don the stripes:
Johnson wouldn’t say who the female officials in the pipeline are, but he was presumably talking about either Sarah Thomas, a Conference USA official who was the first woman to officiate a major college football game, or Terri Valenti, who was the second female official in major college football and the first in pro football when she worked a UFL game last year.
When reached for comment both females said they would welcome the opportunity. Looks like it is just a matter of time now.
