Referee Sarah Thomas has a long list of “firsts” when it comes to football: the first woman to officiate a major college football game, the first woman to officiate a bowl game, the first to officiate in a Big Ten stadium—and, in 2015, after 16 years of officiating for high schools and colleges, she was hired as the first full-time female official in NFL history. Last year, she did it again, taking the field during Super Bowl LV in the down judge position (formerly known as “head linesman,” the position was renamed to be gender-neutral in 2017) and making history as the first-ever woman to officiate a Super Bowl.
