The NFL has been around for 95 years, and all those years only one full-time female official has been hired-Sarah Thomas. The NFL publically announced on April 8, 2015 that Thomas will be an official referee for this season. She then said, “When you’re out there officiating, the guys don’t think of me as a female. I mean, they want me to be just like them — just be an official — and that’s what I’ve always set out to do.”
Thomas, at first, didn’t expect to become a ref until a conversation with her brother one night when she asked him what he was doing. "He said he was going to a football officials meeting," Thomas recalled. "And I said, 'Can girls do that?' He said, 'I guess so, sis -- the meeting starts at 6.' This started her career as a ref. However, just like Palmer, she started out with middle school, junior games, and then started reffing high school games. Slowly, but surely she moved up the ladder
Although, one game in 2006 at Mississippi changed her career for good. An official scout for refs came to that game and then Thomas got a call right after to see if she was “interested in taking the next step,” and sure enough, she accepted. He then connected her with Gerald Austin, the Conference USAs officiating coordinator of the NFL.
When Thomas is reffing, she wears her long blonde hair in her cap, wears little to no makeup, and nobody knows that she is a female until she speaks. When the players realize that she is a woman, they are instantly surprised, but that is how Thomas likes it. "I want to be just another official," Thomas said.
"I've never set out to do that, but I'm telling you it's an honor," Thomas said. "And I'll just say, for anybody, male or female, go and do something because you love it, not because you're wanting to prove somebody wrong or you want recognition for it."