The 2021 NFL season is already off to a historic start, as Maia Chaka will take the field in September as the first Black woman to be an NFL official.
Chaka will join Sarah Thomas, who joined the NFL referee squad in 2015, as the only female officials in the league. More recently, Thomas became the first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl, when she worked the Chiefs-Buccaneers Championship game in February. Seven years ago, the pair were the only two females to be selected for the NFL Officiating Development Program and now find themselves together on the game’s biggest stage.
Working with at-risk youth for the past decade, Chaka is a physical education teacher at the Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach. The former teacher of the year sees her promotion as an opportunity to inspire and represent minority communities.
“It’s an accomplishment for all women, my community, and for my culture”, she said, “I just think it’s great just to have more representation, positive representation, for women of color…especially for the young girls growing up”.
Coaches and general managers seem to be recognizing the importance of representation as well and have recently taken major steps towards further diversifying staff around the league. The 2020 season featured a record of eight female coaches, six of which were on playoff teams. The Washington Football Team and Buccaneers Wild Card Game featured female coaches on opposing sidelines for the first time in history. Looking back two seasons ago, Katie Sowers, 49ers offensive assistant, made history as the first female and openly gay coach to coach in the Super Bowl.
Although representation in sports, and American culture in general, is not the be-all and end-all, it is a step in the right direction. People like Maia Chaka are paving the way for the future do-ers and thinkers of our world, exhibiting the possibilities that exist within professional sports when they tune in to watch their favorite team on a Sunday.
For more NFL coverage, click here.
