The NFL broke ground Friday by hiring Sarah Thomas as its first permanent female official, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Thomas, a resident of Brandon, Miss., and a former college football official in Conference USA, will be one of eight new officials joining the NFL for the 2015 season.
The Sun cited an officiating source who said of Thomas: “She has the right temperament, attitude and feel for the game. She knows the rules and understands how to apply them in the spirit of the rules. That sets her apart, male or female.”
The NFL would not confirm Thomas’ hiring Friday, with league spokesman Michael Signora saying in an e-mail: “The 2015 roster of officials has not yet been finalized. When it is, the new officials for 2015 and the entire roster will be announced.”
Thomas, who is married with three children, has officiated NFL preseason games as a line judge.
