NFL set to hire its first female game official

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...tions-nfls-motives-in-hiring-female-official/

Sen’Derrick Marks questions NFL’s motives in hiring female official
Posted by Mike Florio on April 4, 2015

AP

With the NFL set to hire its first full-time, non-lockout-replacement female official, Jaguars defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks wonders whether the move is more about publicity than it is about ensuring that the best officials are hired to work NFL games.

“It’s just like the Michael Sam situation — if he wasn’t gay, he would have gone undrafted,’’ Marks told TMZ, via Vito Stellino of the Florida Times Union. “Instead, the league drafts him because I think they are trying to monopolize every aspect of the world. The same thing with a female ref. For the league, it’s great publicity. The NFL is all about monopolizing every opportunity.’’

Marks has no problem with the hire, assuming that Sarah Thomas deserves the position.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with it, especially as long as she knows what she’s doing,” Marks said.

Presumably, Thomas knows what she’s doing; she had worked her way up to the highest levels of college football and qualified for NFL preseason games before landing with the NFL on a full-time basis. But it’s fair to at least wonder whether a desire to undo the considerable damage done to The Shield due to the bungling of the Ray Rice case and a longstanding lack of sensitivity to domestic violence influenced the process that resulted in the hiring of Sarah Thomas — and whether it likewise will affect the manner in which the league office applies grades to her performance.

There’s no reason to think the NFL won’t apply the same standards and rules and grades to all officials. But now that the NFL has hired a full-time female official, the NFL needs to be prepared to treat Sarah Thomas exactly the same way any other official would be treated. The players and coaches likewise must be prepared, and expected, to treat her with the highest level of dignity and respect, which traditionally has been afforded to game officials.’

Then again, the highest level of dignity and respect isn’t always afforded to game officials, in any sport. Just ask Bill Belichick or Bill Cowher or Marv Levy or Jerry Glanville or any of these 10 folks.

 

[Stranger]

they can hire monkeys for all I care if it would result in better calls on Sundays.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Aye!
View attachment 5881

:eek:

 

[JackDRams]

 

[BriansRams]

So. Listen. Ever see a ref get hit, or rolled on, or mangled in a pile of players? How's she gonna physically handle that if it happens. I'm ALL for men and women to be treated equally with dignity and respect, and with opportunity. But it's a scientific fact that women are in general smaller and weaker ... physically. My only worry is injury.

 

[Mojo Ram]

It eventually worked for the NBA, and those players are some of the biggest bunch of spoiled, self-centered, sexist, cry baby athletes in sports.

I'm all for it. Any new refs is a good thing for the NFL.

 

[Stranger]

In street clothes....

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

So. Listen. Ever see a ref get hit, or rolled on, or mangled in a pile of players? How's she gonna physically handle that if it happens. I'm ALL for men and women to be treated equally with dignity and respect, and with opportunity. But it's a scientific fact that women are in general smaller and weaker ... physically. My only worry is injury.

I can't wait til she tries to break up a skirmish. Not gonna happen.

 

[bluecoconuts]

I can't wait til she tries to break up a skirmish. Not gonna happen.

You think normal refs can physically break up skirmishes? Or that players listen because they're afraid of getting physically harmed? No, it's because of the power they have, I don't think she will have anymore issues than any other ref.

I've seen plenty of females outperform males at things that are supposedly only something that men can do. If she is qualified, she's qualified, that should be the end of story. There is no reason to wonder if she can do things the other refs can, or what she looks like outside of work. I hate to be "that guy" but seriously guys, come on...

 

[Faceplant]

It's your fault for making me think of this...

Top Ten Ed Hochuli Facts:

1) Ed Hochuliiand Superman once fought each other on a bet. The loser had to start wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants. Superman wears Ed Hochuli pajamas.

2) Ed Hochuli has a grizzly bear carpet in his room. The bear isn't dead it is just afraid to move.

3) Ed Hochuli is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

4) Ed Hochuli can slam a revolving door.

5) There is a monster under your bed hiding from Ed Hochuli.

6) Ed Hochuli once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are known today as Giraffes.

7) When Ed Hochuli does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.

8) Ed Hochuli was dropped twice as a baby. First on Hiroshima, then on Nagasaki.

9) Ed Hochuli can kill your imaginary friends.

10) Ed Hochuli was once on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and was the first to spin. The next 29 minutes of the show consisted of everyone standing around awkwardly, waiting for the wheel to stop.

This had me laughing so hard I woke almost tinkled myself....

 

[Prime Time]

This had me laughing so hard I woke almost tinkled myself....

"Almost" doesn't count.

While being involved in kenpo during the 80's I trained a young lady for an upcoming fight. She was only 5' 3" but solid as a rock. She broke three of my ribs and I was wearing protective equipment. The point is that some women are tough as nails. Hopefully this woman ref will be like that. She will need to be.

 

[Corbin]

I don't like it. I'm sorry but how can a girl ref something she doesn't play. Imo they should stick to being reporterd

WHY HELL IS SHE EVEN THAT FAR FROM A STOVE IS MY QUESTION??!?!

 

[MauiRam]

She may not be worth a damn, but she'll still likely be better than much of what we've had ..

 

[Stranger]

"Almost" doesn't count.

While being involved in kenpo during the 80's I trained a young lady for an upcoming fight. She was only 5' 3" but solid as a rock. She broke three of my ribs and I was wearing protective equipment. The point is that some women are tough as nails. Hopefully this woman ref will be like that. She will need to be.

sounds like my x-wife

 

[RaminExile]

So. Listen. Ever see a ref get hit, or rolled on, or mangled in a pile of players? How's she gonna physically handle that if it happens. I'm ALL for men and women to be treated equally with dignity and respect, and with opportunity. But it's a scientific fact that women are in general smaller and weaker ... physically. My only worry is injury.

Dude there are some old fat white guys who manage to survive - I wouldn't think that's the primary worry. Women are generally tougher than you think anyway. They might not be strong and powerful - but they're pretty resilient and "bouncy" - they go down and you think they must have broken something but just pop up again.

 

[Tron]

I have no problem with this at all, dont see why others do. She knows what she is getting into and had the training. I could care less what her gender is, its all about if she can do the job good.

*not worried about her getting hit from a player during a play, doesnt happen often and woman are tougher than people think. If she makes good calls, hope they hire more female refs, cause the ones we have now kinda suck balls.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/04/06/nate-boyer-long-snapper-green-beret-nfl-draft/3/

Sarah Thomas officiated college football for seven years and worked NFL preseason games last season. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Sarah Thomas’ time has arrived
The NFL’s first full-time female official will arrive in the 96th season of the league, now that Sarah Thomas has been hired. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reported Thomas’ hire Friday, and though the league wouldn’t confirm it, the story’s a lock. Thomas will be a full-time line judge starting this summer.

This isn’t happening now because the NFL has its antennae up about hiring as many women as it can in the wake of the bungled domestic abuse cases that plagued the league (and continue to do) in 2014. As Mike Pereira told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, he was surprised this didn’t happen a year ago. Thomas, married with three children, became a finalist for an NFL job in 2013, was a finalist again last year, and this year, with eight new officials being hired, was finally one of the new officials elevated.

All seven on-field officials have multiple tasks per play, and the line judge is no different. The line judge is on the line of scrimmage near the sideline, opposite the head linesman. The line judge is the backup timekeeper, works with the linesman on offside and encroachment calls, and, once the ball is snapped, follows the closest slot back or flanker to that side downfield seven yards.

After the receiver goes farther downfield, the line judge turns back to the backfield and has primary ruling on whether a pass is forward or a lateral, and whether the quarterback is behind the line or past it when he releases the ball. The line judge also must be an extra set of eyes for infractions by blockers and defenders on that side of the field, and must assist the referee on intentional-grounding calls.

Thomas is a pharmaceutical sales representative from Mississippi who first worked a college game in 2007. She has worked Indianapolis and New Orleans training-camp practices, and some other NFL teams’ offseason practices. When she has worked, she stuffs her blonde ponytail under her hat and looks like any other official. She’ll be closely watched, to be sure.

But those who have watched her say one of the reasons she’s making this jump is because she doesn’t get flustered on the field and is extremely good with the rules. When she worked a Cleveland Browns practice in 2012, several players said they didn’t notice anything different about the line judge until it was pointed out that the line judge was a woman. If that happens on the field this year, Thomas—and the NFL—will be very happy.

 

[BriansRams]

Dude there are some old fat white guys who manage to survive - I wouldn't think that's the primary worry. Women are generally tougher than you think anyway. They might not be strong and powerful - but they're pretty resilient and "bouncy" - they go down and you think they must have broken something but just pop up again.

Yeah I know. But I stand by my statement that that is a concern I have. You don't have to have the same concerns. You do know how big and fast pro players are ... right? The big hits/collisions are the same as car accidents in many ways. Yes, women are tough and are not lower in status than men, I've already made that clear. But go ahead and look at many of the records (men's records vs women's records) at the olympics for 100 meter, for shot-put, for weight lifting, etc ... and you will find that men are bigger, stronger, faster. It's just a fact. Choose any woman in the world that you want, give her a football, tell her to run for a touchdown, but that Ray Lewis in his prime has been told to tackle her as viciously as he can. It's NOT gonna turn out good for that woman. I just hope she doesn't get hurt by being in the wrong place at the wrong time on the field. That's all.

 

[RamFan503]

Doesn't she have kids to raise or a husband to cook for? The hell is this world coming to? I'll forgive her if she goes braless in the games. Hell of a lot of work for her to meet a rich football player. So if the head ref is a man and he overturns one of her calls, is he still wrong?

 

[Thordaddy]

Hopefully the desire to not be shown up by a woman makes these boobs up their game ,which I have NEVER considered any better than the replacements did or could have done w/o the intense scrutiny generated by the "mainstream media" being predictably pro union and sounding the drumbeat.