Let’s look at the women helping diversify the NFL one rule at a time.
Within the last decade, we have seen a change in the diversity of NFL rule officials on the field and in replay. I wanted to highlight some of the amazing women inspiring young girls and women everywhere with their impact on the game.
Shannon Eastin
We have to start with the first-ever woman to become an official in the NFL. In 2012, Eastin was called in to begin officiating during the lockout of full-time referees. Her first game as a line judge was on Aug. 9, 2012, a pre-season game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers. She then officiated her first regular season game on Sept. 9, 2012, between the Detroit Lions and the St. Louis Rams. She then transitioned to a play clock operator from 2013 to 2018. Eastin was the first female play clock operator in the NFL playoffs during Super Bowl XLIX and went on to operate the 2015 Pro Bowl following the playoffs. While she is now retired from NFL officiating, Eastin owns and operates SE Sports Officiating, which trains people in football and basketball officiating. She has also written a memoir called Lady Ref: Making Calls in a Man’s World, which has now been added to my to-be-read list!
Sarah Thomas
Although she began playing basketball at the University of Mobile, Thomas quickly made a switch to officiate football and created a large impact in the NFL by making history in many aspects.
Thomas began in 2015 as the first-ever woman to officiate full-time. Not only did she make history in the NFL, but she was also the first woman to officiate a college bowl game in 2009 and a game at a Big Ten stadium in 2011.
Since her NFL debut in 2015, Thomas worked her way from being a line judge to a down judge in 2017. She then took the title of the first female on-field official and officiated a Divisional Round game in 2019 between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers. She then made history again by being named an official down judge in 2021 for Super Bowl LV, the first woman to ever officiate a playoff game. Sarah Thomas was the first woman to reach these rankings and laid the foundation for many women who followed her.
Maia Chaka
We cannot discuss breaking barriers in the NFL without discussing Maia Chaka’s inspiring story.
While Chaka has discussed playing a myriad of sports growing up, she decided to become an official to continue her involvement in athletics. She decided to become a football official as she never had the chance to play the sport when she was young.
In 2014, Chaka was hired as a back judge during the preseason game between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Hired as the only new official in the 2021 season, Chaka was the first woman of color to officiate full-time in the NFL. Her first game took place in Week 1 of the 2021 season when she officiated the game between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets. Working a total of three seasons, alongside Clay Martin’s crew for the first two and ending with Ron Torbert’s crew for her final season, Chaka began her officiating career in the abbreviated 2020 XFL season.
Although she has now retired from her position as a line judge, Chaka continues to inspire women and girls with her public speaking and education as a health and physical education teacher. She has now founded Girls with Empowering Minds and Spirits and a nonprofit, Make Meaningful Change. Chaka has truly left a lasting impact on all women.
Robin DeLorenzo
After working fourteen years on her dad’s high school football officiating crew, DeLorenzo worked her way up through officiating junior colleges, Division III, Division II and Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) levels.
Before being offered a position with the NFL, DeLorenzo officiated in the Mid-American and Big Ten conferences of Division I football. In 2021, she officiated the game between the University of Michigan and Ohio State, one of the biggest rivalries in Division I football. Following the game, she received a phone call explaining that she was being welcomed to officiate in the NFL.
DeLorenzo worked her first preseason game as a down judge in 2021 between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. She then became a line judge for the 2022 season.
Having worked her way up to the NFL and taken on two different officiating roles, DeLorenzo has shown everyone that women are equally as capable of officiating in the NFL with the right amount of determination and grit.
Karina Tovar
This is another official who has broken barriers in becoming the first Latina woman to referee in the NFL.
Having played flag football throughout high school, Tovar became an official to stay close to the sport she loved. She was a high school official before she began officiating in the Pac-12 collegiate conference. After reffing the Hula Bowl in 2023, Tovar started as a side judge for the NFL, marking her as the fourth on-field female official in history.
Since her time with the NFL, Tovar has begun working with mentorship programs for young Latina girls and women to help inspire them to achieve their goals in the professional sports world. She has also publicly spoken at conferences and clinics, emphasizing resilience and education. With her presence on and off the field, Tovar has helped pave the path for many young girls and women, making her an amazing role model for all.
Honorable Mentions
So many amazing women have helped promote the diversity and inclusion of officials in the NFL. Here are a few more honorable women who have left an impact on the league:
Terri Valenti - First woman to become a replay official for the NFL
Kim Pegula - Second co-owner, and first female owner, of the Buffalo Bills in 2014
Amy Trask - First female chief executive officer in the NFL
Beth Mowins - First woman to call a nationally televised NFL game
Kathryn Smith - First female full-time coach in the NFL: the Buffalo Bills quality control special teams coach
Amy Adams Strunk - Controlling owner of the Tennessee Titans and co-chairman of the franchise’s board of directors
Charean Williams - First of two women to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee in 2007
With the rise of female representation, diversity, equity and inclusion are becoming a major focus for the NFL. I speak for everyone when I say I can’t wait to see more women involved in professional sports. Whether on the field, on the course, on the track, or in the booths, they leave lasting impacts on all women and girls who follow.
Edited by Madison Roost
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