Female Officials in the NFL? ‘I Expect We’ll See it Soon’

The NFL vice president of officiating Carl Johnson recently told Jane McManus of ESPN.com that he has women in the officiating pipeline who could soon make their way to a NFL field.

“We have some in our pipeline, and I expect we’ll see it soon,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to get the best people working this game.

“I think it’s going to be well-received, because we have a huge following among females. All the players want is someone who is going to call the game properly.”

Of course, there will be people who do not want to see women officiating a NFL game but those are the kind of people who’s opinions really don’t matter. There is no logical reasoning for why a woman could not ref a NFL game.

As long as the person has a firm understanding of the sport and can make the right calls, why not allow them to be an official?

In mixed martial arts, a far more physical sport, there are women referees who are in the cage with trained men swinging punches and wrestling their opponents to the ground. The women are educated and understand the action so they can avoid danger.

Women officials in the NFL would have the same awareness and understanding of the action to avoid the injury — so there goes that argument.

Having women officials is the next logical step in the sport’s progression. The NFL is America’s biggest sport and as the sport continues to be in the spotlight more and more people will become interested and want to get involved. Obviously, that means more women will become interested.

One woman, Sarah Johnson, set a milestone last year when she became the first woman to officiate a major college game. Johnson officiated in Conference USA. Johnson is more than qualified to make the jump to the professional ranks and would welcome the new challenge.

“Any professional sport is at the highest level, and if they asked me to officiate at that level, I would not turn them down,” Thomas said.

Why stop someone from becoming involved in a game they love? If a woman is qualified and has game experience, she should be allowed to officiate a NFL game. Personally, I look forward to seeing a woman official in the NFL. What are your thoughts on the possibility of women officiating a NFL game?

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