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When I stop and think about it, I have to admit that I'm rather surprised that the only top-level major US sport that has ever had a real female ref/ump is the NBA.Violet Palmer, who some of you may be familiar with, currently fills that one lonely spot in the 3 major US sports. She is, of course, a horrible NBA ref, but that has nothing to do with her gender. There are plenty of even worse male refs in the NBA (who may also be on the take).
And in an age where we can have a woman run for president, and lose a hard fought major party primary, it's certainly more than relevant to ask "Why aren't there more women reffing or umping major sports out there?"
Well, the truthful response is that one, there aren't nearly as many women that want to be refs/umps as men, and two, those women that do want to be refs/umps face an absurd amount of sexism in the male-dominated sports industry.
In major league baseball, no woman has ever made it past the Triple-A level, and the woman who made it to that level, Pam Postema, settled out of court with MLB in a sexual discrimation case.
While MLB is still a long way off from doing anything about this, we may soon have a female ref in the NFL, one of the most male-dominated leagues (from personel to management) in the world.
Sarah Thomas, who was the first woman to ref a "major" college game (I use that term loosely, since it was Memphis vs. Jacksonville St.), recently reffed a Saints scrimmage.
NFL referee Gene Steratore said that the NFL regularly brings in college coaches to help officiate training camp practices and that they’re usually officials that come highly recommended and are being looked at by the league. However, he would not say whether or not Thomas is being considered for a position in the NFL.
But a past ESPN article says that Thomas has been highly recommended by NFL officials. From the ESPN article from just under a year ago:
"She came highly recommended by two NFL scouts," said Gerry Austin, a longtime NFL referee and the conference's coordinator of officials. "She has a good presence and demeanor. I feel like she has the ability and courage to make a call, and the guts to not make one, too."
Obviously, the leap might not happen quite yet. A number of NFL refs worked in college for a number of years before they made the pros. But it's good to see that Thomas is on that path.
Obviously, some questions have been raised over the amount of abuse Thomas could face as an NFL official. MJD of Shutdown Corner at Yahoo! Sports, who totally supports Thomas, believes that the vast majority of male NFL fans are sexist. As MJD explains:
One day, it will happen. Maybe it'll be Sarah Thomas, and maybe it won't. But whoever it is, and whenever it happens, I hope they're not waiting for the NFL fans of the world to adopt a progressive feminist attitude first.
Unfortunately, he's certainly right. But that's what usually happens to pioneers of any kind. Here's hoping that Sarah Thomas can be that pioneer, and sooner rather than later.
Could this woman become the NFL's first female official? [Blog of New Orleans]
A female official? I hope she doesn't have sensitive ears [Shutdown Corner]
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