The Super Bowl final, Sunday, February 7, between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs resulted in a rain of records.
While Tom Brady won his 7th coronation with the Florida team and his coach, Bruce Arians, became at 68 the oldest coach to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy, Sarah Thomas also made history in becoming the first woman to referee an NFL final.
Originally from Mississippi, she was part of the refereeing body of this meeting comprising a total of eight people.
Her presence at the Super Bowl was even praised by First Lady Jill Biden.
I'm cheering you on today, Sarah Thomas!
🎉 #SuperBowl https://t.co/eh2XCjBWxq
- Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 7, 2021
The USA Today daily insisted on the historic nature of this premiere.
"For decades, arbitration was simply entrusted to white men. Blacks were not allowed. No person of color, let alone women," the newspaper recalls.
As also described in the Journal de Quebec, "the NFL remains an environment predominantly reserved for men, but the fairer sex is starting to break stereotypes. Never has the Super Bowl given so much room to women, with two of them who are on the full-time coaching staff of the Buccaneers [Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar, editor's note], in addition to Sarah Thomas ".
These two women, who serve as defensive line assistant and physical conditioning coordinator respectively, became the first female representatives to win the title thanks to the victory of Tampa Bay.
The first female coaches to win a Super Bowl 👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/wRBIgrky27
- SB Nation (@SBNation) February 8, 2021
The Canadian newspaper also points out that "Sarah Thomas certainly did not get this showcase in a marketing drive", but that she took part in 92 meetings.
Sarah Thomas also explained that her dream was never "to referee at the Super Bowl, but to become the best of my profession".
Sarah Thomas is ready to become the first female to officiate in the Super Bowl 👏 pic.twitter.com/o6bi9VkLMe
- espnW (@espnW) February 7, 2021
"Do it because you like it"
The 47-year-old pioneer had already become in 2015 the first female referee engaged full-time in the Professional American Football League (NFL), and the first to officiate in a play-off match in 2019.
"When I started refereeing, there were very few women in American football ... The other day, I received an email from a few referees from abroad, you can see the impact around the world. My message to them is: 'Do it, because you like it, not because you want to be recognized,' "she explained before the Super Bowl.
Thomas began officiating in 1996, working his way up the youth ranks to high school.
She feared she would never advance to college level, after an official told her he would never assign her to a game because of her gender.
However, she was spotted by Joe Haynes, an NFL recruiter, who recommended her to Conference USA, an inter-varsity group based in the southern United States.
A model
His NFL career then took off, after making an impression at training camps with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
She made her debut as a linesman in 2016. A painful first experience, as she broke a wrist after being knocked down by a player during a game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.
Despite the injury, she had courageously insisted on finishing the meeting.
She now hopes to become an inspiring role model.
"I have a little girl who is watching her mother and knowing that I am impacting her and other young girls all over the place makes me honored and humble," she mentioned through of a video distributed by the NFL.
“Knowing the impact that I'm having on not just my daughter, but young girls everywhere… is remarkable and I'm truly honored and humbled to be a part of this year's Super Bowl crew.”
- Sarah Thomas on making @NFL history tomorrow pic.twitter.com/j6jiwZMbYp
- NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) February 6, 2021
With AFP
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