This weekend Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate a college bowl game, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Marshall beat Ohio, 21-17). The Mississippi mother of two is in her first season officiating college football and earned high enough marks to place her in a bowl game. Thomas said:
It was a little uncomfortable at first because you don’t really want to make it a big deal, but my husband kept telling me that it’s something I should embrace because it’s helping open a door that little girls probably thought was forever shut for them.
While sports are far behind the gender equality that so much of corporate America has embraced, it’s good to see another door opened for everyone who’s willing and able to do the job. Hopefully an openly gay man will be next.
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 10:06 PM
I will never understand how “gender equality” and “gay men” are equated as being the same thing or even similar in nature. Gay MEN. Hence, the gender is clear. No gender equality necessary. Unless the sport is gender neutral, each gender has its own sports and that is how it should be. Despite popular belief, Gay MEN are MEN and not all Gay Men believe the propaganda that somehow allowing females to partake in male sports will somehow open the door for Gay Men to partake openly in those same venues. Utter nonsense. If you ever need a writer that writes about sports as a Gay Man and not as a feminist, please feel free to contact me. Women have had varies rights given to them for over 100 years and yet it has proved to have no bearing whatsoever on the rights of Gay Men. Utter nonsense. Thank you for your time.