Sarah Thomas | |
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Born | Sarah Bailey September 21, 1973 Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S. |
Occupation | NFL official (2015–present) |
Spouse | Brian Thomas (m. 2000)[1] |
Children | 3 |
Sarah Thomas (née Bailey; born September 21, 1973)[2][3] is an American football referee for the National Football League (NFL). Thomas is the first woman to be a permanent NFL official.[4][5] Thomas is breaking gender barriers around her career.[6][7] Thomas was the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl.[8] She refereed the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, in 2021.[4][9]
Sarah Thomas was raised in Pascagoula Mississippi.[6] She and her brother played sports.[6][4] She received a scholarship for basketball at the University of Mobile.[6][9] Thomas was recorded 5th best in the school for her excellence in basketball. [6] Her statistics over five seasons: 779 points, 411 rebounds, 108 assists, and 192 steals. [6] Thomas was titled Academic All-American at Mobile.[6][9] She aided her team get to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament. Thomas got a degree in communications and graduated Mobile in 1995.[6]
Thomas was interested in becoming a Football official after college.[9][4] She went with her older brother to his officiating meeting. She started being an official for grade school, and then high schools in 1999.[4] Thomas officiated a high school state championship game in Mississippi, 2007.[6] Joe Henes, who is a retired official told Gerry Austin, a supervisor of Conference USA’s officials about Thomas and her ability to officiate.[9] Joe Henes recommended she start officiating college football.[6] Austin looked into her skill set and hired Thomas.[6] This made her the first woman to officiate a major college game.[9]
She started working for the NFL in 2015.[9][5]
Thomas has good communication skills.[6] She can talk to coaches.[6] She listens to the coach when they are questioning the call.[6] She calms them down.[6] Coaches are confident about her abilities.[5]