NFL set to hire its first female game official

[BadCompany]

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.

She'll do fine. Women have that extra layer of fat to protect them.

- Cliff Claven​

 

[MauiRam]

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.

Uh .. I am pretty sure she's going to be a ref - not a running back. Your analogy is somewhat skewed. If she's a good referee, I could care less about her forty time, or what she can bench press. As of late, there have been way too many horrible calls on the field. If Sarah can get the calls right, good for her, good for the players, and good for us fans as well.

 

[RaminExile]

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.

No ones asking her to tackle the guy but yes it is a dangerous proposition for anyone to be standing near an NFL playing field. I appreciate that. I just don't think a fit, tough woman is any more likely to get seriously hurt than some of the old guys out there right now. And - she knows the risks. Its up to her whether she wants to put her body on the line I guess. I know women aren't as naturally strong, fast and explosive - but as I say, if they're in shape they'll be stronger and faster than an out of shape guy, and I do think they are quite tough generally.

 

[RaminExile]

Uh .. I am pretty sure she's going to be a ref - not a running back. Your analogy is somewhat skewed. If she's a good referee, I could care less about her forty time, or what she can bench press. As of late, there have been way too many horrible calls on the field. If Sarah can get the calls right, good for her, good for the players, and good for us fans as well.

Need that arm strength doe when throwing flags 50 yards downfield to ensure the Rams get a big play cancelled out right?

Or for this?

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ust-a-part-of-big-turnover-for-nfl-officials/

Sarah Thomas just a part of big turnover for NFL officials
Posted by Darin Gantt on April 8, 2015

Getty Images

The NFL has changed the face of its official corps the last two offseasons, and that has just a little to do with hiring Sarah Thomas.

The league’s first full-time female official is one of nine new officials announced today, following 13 replacements last year.

That means the league has turned over 22 of 119 officiating jobs (18.5 percent) in the last two seasons alone.

The league’s competition committee admitted they wanted to churn the roster, putting out a memo that was distributed at the owners meetings which underscored the notion that adding replay rules wasn’t the only way to fix their problems.

“While instant replay was designed to be an aid to on-field officiating, it’s not the panacea that some believe to be,” the memo read. “The committee, and senior officiating leadership, believe the primary focus should be on improving the performance of on-field game officials which will lead to the goal of greater consistency.”

That’s why they started reviewing officials differently two years ago, and it’s no accident that led to turnover.

League vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said during the owners meetings that freshening up the league’s pool of officials was a priority, as they wanted their refs younger and in better shape.

“Yes, I think we have seen improvement,” Blandino said of recent changes. “I think the scrutiny is at an all-time high, and we accept that. That is part of the challenge. I think we’ve seen improvement but we know that we have to continue to work to get even better.

“And what we are doing is we are really focusing on the staff and do we have to have more turnover? Do we have to get more officials? Look at the low performers and move them off of the staff? And physical fitness is a really important aspect of what we are doing. We are working with sports nutritionists and performance consultants to get our officials up to speed in that area. And that is something we are really committed to.”

They don’t all have to have guns like Ed Hochuli, but having a more fit group is only going to help the officials keep up with players who are faster and stronger than ever.

So while hiring Thomas will be — and should be — something the league can be proud of, the fact they’re trying to raise the bar for all their game officials is just as important to the game as a whole.

 

[BigRamFan]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...tions-nfls-motives-in-hiring-female-official/
There’s no reason to think the NFL won’t apply the same standards and rules and grades to all officials.

Wait a minute?! They apply standards and rules to the officials now?

 

[Yamahopper]

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/08/nfl-has-fired-some-of-its-worst-officials/

NFL has fired some of its worst officials
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 8, 2015

The NFL has fired some of its worst officials.

Although NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino wasn’t quite that blunt in confirming it today, Blandino said “we moved on from” some officials who weren’t up to snuff.

“If an official isn’t performing up to the standards then they won’t be in the NFL,” Blandino said.

Blandino declined to name the officials who won’t be back, but those names are expected to become public soon.

“I won’t get into specific names. We are going to publish the roster toward the end of the month so you can look at the roster and probably figure it out,” Blandino said.

Asked how the NFL determined which officials won’t be back, Blandino said the officials are closely tracked, and if they’re consistently near the bottom of the league in their grades, they won’t be retained.

“Any official, in any competitive arena, could have a poor season, so one season may not necessarily cause us to terminate an official,” Blandino said. “But if it becomes a trend, multiple seasons, we have a tier-based ranking system, the third tier being the lowest performers. Once they enter Tier 3 we put them in an enhanced training regimen and put them in that program, and if we still don’t see improvement, that’s when we move on.”

Blandino said officials are assessed on decision making, the calls they make and calls they should have made but didn’t, as well as physical fitness and the ability to keep up with the fast pace of play in the NFL.

The league also terminated several officials last year, and Blandino said the NFL’s officiating improved.

“I think we saw that officiating was better not just because of the turnover, I think it’s overall the differences in terms of what we’re doing from the training perspective,” Blandino said. “The scrutiny is so high at this point, we really are asking more of them.”

That’s as it should be. NFL players and coaches routinely get fired if they don’t perform well enough. Officials are no different.

 

[BigRamFan]

Jerome Boger has just got to be one of those!

 

[BriansRams]

She'll do fine. Women have that extra layer of fat to protect them.

- Cliff Claven​

That's right. I had forgotten that fact. You're right. She will do fine.

 

[BriansRams]

Uh .. I am pretty sure she's going to be a ref - not a running back. Your analogy is somewhat skewed. If she's a good referee, I could care less about her forty time, or what she can bench press. As of late, there have been way too many horrible calls on the field. If Sarah can get the calls right, good for her, good for the players, and good for us fans as well.

I agree fully. I hope she can get many more calls right than some current refs.
Indeed. She is not a running back. My analogy was only to put into context how much more physically dominant men are than women (in general, yes, i know there are some very strong women on earth that can beat up some very weak men on earth. but in general, and especially when dealing with trained athletes of contact sports, men are bigger, stronger, faster physically).

 

[RamFan503]

I think we’ve seen improvement but we know that we have to continue to work to get even better.

I keep reading this and I just can't rationalize it. WHEN exactly did it get better? I'm not just cracking wise here. The refs were as bad as I have ever seen them in almost every game I watched (not just Rams games) this past year. I made the comment several times that there is no way that college refs should be better than NFL refs but they ARE. If not, the NFL refs are being directed to make some flat out shitty ass calls and non-calls.

Virtually to a man the fans have been bitching about the refs more than ever. It's not coincidence. The fans always bitch about a few calls but it is flat out ridiculous these days.

Hey Blandino. You know how you know when the refs are getting better? When we hardly notice they are on the fucking field and when you quit having to make statements to the media about how you are working to make the officiating better. Quit telling us the reffing is getting better and make them demonstrate it.

 

[Mackeyser]

I just don't buy any of the arguments against women based on abstract physical traits. There are women firefighters who can deadlift my big ass and carry me out of a building, what do I care if her shampoo smells like lavender? So does Les's and we don't give him too much grief about it.

When my youngest daughter was 14 and barely weighed a buck, we rolled BJJ and she nearly choked me out on several occasions.

All that matters for the integrity of the game is getting the call right.

As for people getting creamed, I'm more worried about the retirees they have manning the yardage markers. They get routinely creamed. Even more than the guy who rents the $10k Nikkor white lens for the game that looks like a battleship cannon.

I REALLY don't care if the person has an inny or an outty below the belt. As long as the game improves, that's all that matters.

 

[So Ram]

W

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...l-set-to-hire-its-first-female-game-official/

Report: NFL set to hire its first female game official
Posted by Darin Gantt on April 3, 2015

AP

Fridays of holiday weekends are generally for dropping bad news, but the NFL may be about to announce a groundbreaking one.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the NFL has apparently hired its first female official, Sarah Thomas.

Thomas has been in the officiating pipeline for several years, and has been working at the college level while learning the NFL game.

She has worked camps and preseason games in the past, and technically wouldn’t be the first female on an NFL field, since Shannon Eastin worked a game during the replacement-ref era.

The league has had significant turnover in its officiating ranks in recent years, as they’ve tried to improve the part of the game which is practically built on human error.

But while new officials are a welcome addition, the addition of Thomas marks a milestone for a league too long bound by the old ways.

.


What is your point again ?? These post replies are way to silly.

Does anyone remember the first women (replacement)to work a regulation NFL game ?

That still pisses me off.I hate to say I'm happy for all the losses.It means The Rams get better draft picks. Some real bad calls against the horns.
--How many games did the first women in The NFL work ??

 

[RamFan503]

All that matters for the integrity of the game is getting the call right.

And for her to look good in shorts.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/04/13/troy-polamalu-retires-hall-of-fame-nfl/2/

Monday Morning Quarterback
Mon Apr. 13, 2015
By Peter King

Sarah Thomas will become the NFL’s first female official, serving as a line judge on a yet to be determined crew. (Mark Cunningham/Getty Images)

The impact of Sarah Thomas.

It’s not like Sarah Thomas, hired by the NFL last week as a line judge for one of the league’s 17 officiating crews, is immune to some boos and some coach-screaming after a call she made that people didn’t like. But even the biggest crowd for a college game—she said last week she thinks it was probably 55,000 or so for Utah State-Brigham Young—won’t compare to the intensity and the spotlight Thomas will face this season when she becomes the first full-time female official in the 96-year history of the NFL.

I can see it now: a dedicated camera on Thomas for her first game of the regular season, by whichever network has the game. It’s history. A good history—assuming Thomas can handle it. I’m told one of the things that drew the NFL to consider Thomas was her poise and her ability to take the heat on the field. That’s one thing the NFL officiating scouts look for in college officials aiming to make the jump to the big time. And Thomas showed that poise working for the past few seasons in Conference USA and three bowl games and scattered other college games.

But this is not North Texas at Middle Tennessee she’ll be reffing. I want to see Thomas’ reaction the first time Bill Belichick or Bruce Arians or John Fox screams, “What the %&*# was THAT call?” I used Belichick’s name the other day in just such a scenario.

“I really have not thought of it,” Thomas said.

That’s by far the best answer she could have given. Think about it: If she says, Well, I have tremendous respect for Coach Belichick, and it would be tough, but I have worked long and hard to be sure I’m ready for this chance, then she’s messed up. Why? Because Bill Belichick, to her, now has to be the same as the coach at North Texas or Middle Tennessee. He’s a coach. Coaches scream sometimes. You explain, and if they don’t shut up, you turn away and the game goes on.

“The great thing is, the ball is going to be snapped soon afterward,” Thomas said. “I don’t ignore the coach in that situation. But it may be I didn’t see it the way he did.”

As for the pressure of being the first woman, she said, “I don’t believe it makes the job more difficult. I don’t carry that pressure with me. The job I have is to be the best official for my crewmates, coaches and players in the NFL. I know scrutiny is going to come, but I just don’t entertain the negative.”

For now, Thomas must get used to being a symbol as well as an official. Like it or not, she’s going to be a beacon for women and girls, and not just in women and girls interested in football or interested in following her to the NFL. School kids are going to write reports on her. In fact, they already are. And she is into it.

“What’s it like to know that young girls all over the country are going to know who you are—and you’ll be a symbol for another barrier that’s been broken?” I asked.

“When you said that,” Thomas said, “it sent chills down my spine. It’s a good kind of chill. My business partner’s daughter wrote a paper about me for school. It’s an honor.”

No word yet which referee and crew Thomas will be paired with—my money is on the terminally patient Peter Morelli’s crew—but in whatever crew, the ref won’t be the focus, at least in 2015. Sarah Thomas will be.

 

[BriansRams]

I just don't buy any of the arguments against women based on abstract physical traits. There are women firefighters who can deadlift my big ass and carry me out of a building.

I'm not "arguing." I'm discussing my only concern. I'd like to make that clear.
Look at Sarah Thomas picture though. My best guess from the picture is 5' 7'' 135 lbs.
I'd like to ask you. Can SHE dead-lift you and carry you out of a building?

 

[thirteen28]

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.

For Justified fans ... does Ed Hochuli's face look like that of Dewey Crowe or what?

 

[Prime Time]

For Justified fans ... does Ed Hochuli's face look like that of Dewey Crowe or what?

Yeah, there is a horrifying resemblance, lol.

 

[Angry Ram]

I REALLY don't care if the person has an inny or an outty below the belt. As long as the game improves, that's all that matters.

LOL I never heard that used for anything other than the belly button.