For National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we hosted a weekly series where we publish interviews with astounding women in sports every Wednesday. This week's guest is Sarah Thomas.

Sarah Thomas made history when she was brought on as the first female to officiate the SuperBowl. If you think that's impressive, just wait: she was also the first female to officiate a major college football game, the first to officiate any bowl game, and the first to officiate in a Big Ten stadium. She was hired to officiate full-time for the NFL (also a first)  in 2015, and has just wrapped up her 7th season with the NFL. 

Although she now works in the football world, Sarah played varsity softball in high school, and basketball at the collegiate-level. She entered the world of football officiating in 1996. By 1999, she was officiating her first high school varsity football game, and in 2022, she's still making history. 

Sarah never ‘planned' to become a football referee, nonetheless at the NFL level. But, she stumbled across a referee group by coincidence, and fell in love with it:

“After I played college basketball, I was playing in a men's church league with my brother. After three years of playing in that league, I was voted out. So, a couple months after getting voted out, I talked to my brother and I said ‘Hey, what're you doing this evening?' and he said he was going to a football officials meeting.

And, like I always asked him: ‘Can girls do that?'

He said, ‘Sure sis. Meet me at 6 O'Clock, don't be late.'

So, I went to my very first football officials meeting, not having any idea that there weren't women involved, but I fell in love with the craft.”

Having played her way through college basketball, Sarah says: “There [were] some influences of me being told ‘why don't you try basketball?' and so, I did try basketball for about 3 years, but it just wasn't a challenge for me because I played basketball, but football was such a challenge for me.”

If you know anything about Sarah, you probably know her for the Superbowl she officiated, or her first Big Ten game, but her proudest accomplishment was well before she stepped foot into Raymond James Stadium to officiate Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Kansas City Chiefs in the 55th Super Bowl:

“One most memorable game in my career, I know a lot of people would probably say the Super Bowl, but it was really back in my rookie year, and it was my first Monday Night football game. It was like the reality set in. I am standing on this pylon, and I hear the theme music from Monday Night Football blaring in the stadium, and I just went: “I am not at home on my couch. I'm here and I love being here. And then I thought to myself, don't get hit and don't blow a call. The last play of the game came down to me ruling a touchdown. 

I just reflect back on that game and that moment, because if I didn't rule it correctly, what would the impact have been for so many young girls or individuals that were trying or thinking that they could do something? Because if it had gone the opposite way, it would've been in the headlines: ‘She doesn't belong. What is she doing out there?'

I am so fortunate that it was the correct call and just the positive news feeds made a positive impact for others that are trying to break through in something that's just not the norm.”

While she made the correct call that game, her two goals were to not blow a call and to not get hit. This wasn't always accomplished: at a Green Bay Packers game later in her career, Sarah was “trucked” by two players. In the wrong place at the wrong time, she broke her wrist, but when she got taped up and realized the game was still playing, she went back and finished the game with a broken wrist.

This resilience is due in part to a lesson her parents taught her from a young age: “Once we started something as kids, our parents always enforced ‘once you start something, you don't quit.'”

From high school referee, to full-time NFL official, to Super Bowl official, Sarah says that it comes down to not allowing yourself to quit, and being your own motivator:

“If you're not the person that is motivating yourself, I just strongly encourage you to check yourself at the door. There are so many things in our life that will encourage us… but at the end of the day, if you are trying to fulfill someone else's requirements of you or what you think they want from you, you're going to fail them. But, if you're the one who is truly motivating yourself, you will find a reason to keep going.”

This motivation and her love for her craft is what has motivated Sarah to climb the ladder and accomplish all that she has. As a former college athlete and a waymaker in football officiating, Sarah is a role model to all young women, and anyone trying to make their way in sports:

“If you're doing it for the right reasons and you fall in love with it, don't let your gender hold you back whatsoever. Women run households, they run corporations. Just because it's not the norm or because no other woman has done it, does not mean you're not capable of doing it… When people see your passion, and your work ethic, and your drive because you love what you're doing, the recognition will come.”

Everyone in sports does what we do because we love it, and Sarah is a perfect example. She has accomplished so many things that many people would never have imagined just because she loved learning and working in football and challenged herself to get as close to a perfect game as possible. She reminds us:

“Find something you have a passion for. There are going to be so many times in your life when you will encounter what most people will say are roadblocks. Don't look at them as roadblocks, look at them as speed bumps, and the quicker you get over the speed bump, the faster it will be in the rear view mirror. The rearview mirror is… behind you, but your windshield is so much bigger than your rearview mirror, and there's so many opportunities to grow and learn from.”

Come back March 9th for our final interview in this series with Jenny Taft:
Feb 2: Donna Lopiano
Feb 9: Kaiya McCullough
Feb 16: Kathrine Switzer
Feb 23: Sarah Thomas
March 9: Jenny Taft

* Originally published on February 23, 2022, by Jaime Evers