Since Sarah Thomas was announced as the first female official in the NFL’s 95-year history this week, general reaction has been almost entirely positive. Thomas’s appointment is in many ways anticlimactic. With 20 years of high school and college experience and the past two in the NFL’s elite officiating development program, her resume is robust. Even the most critical eye would be hard pressed to find something awry with Thomas in her new role.
The NFL has had its fair share of publicity stunts. This is not one of them.
Thomas herself has handled the situation to perfection. In a conference call with national media this week, she gracefully towed the line between embracing the significance of the moment while emphasizing the anonymity of officiating. Though comfortable in appearances on Good Morning America, The Dan Patrick Show and other popular national outlets, ultimately Thomas wants what all officials want: to be invisible.
But she’s not blind to the reality. Scrutiny is inherent for a person breaking gender barriers in America’s most popular sport. Even for those wearing zebra stripes.
When asked about being under the microscope, Thomas chose to focus on players and coaches.
“I’ve been around for a good little while and I think they know who I am,” Thomas said. “They just want to make sure that I can do the job as an official.”
But within social media ranks, judgment tends to be deeper and more personal.
On Twitter, early reaction to Thomas’s hiring has been more positive than not. But mixed in with the congratulations and barrier breaking revelry are the trolls. Cloaked in anonymity, the trolls have inevitably emerge to expound tired “get back in the kitchen” jokes before retreating to their parents’ creepy basements. Some have added a “bitch” to that sentiment. Others are even cruder. The good news is those people are the minority and Twitter as a company seems to be doing more and more to silence them. The bad news is, like cockroaches, these people never go away and put a unseemly taint on anything that resembles progress.
But how will Twitter respond to Thomas once she actually takes the field? On the one hand, Thomas is joining one of the most thankless, and attacked, professions in sports. Most fans don’t believe they can rush a quarterback, but they sure think they would have called that offensive hold the real official missed. And fans love to talk about Ed Hochuli’s biceps, but you rarely hear about a great game he called. From an outsider perspective, there’s no gold standard in the profession for Thomas to live up to. Thus, her gender could elevate the benign criticism, but she’ll mostly be like her colleagues in substance, if not tone.
The real danger will be when Thomas is tasked with her first controversial call in a high-profile contest. As a line judge, Thomas mostly lives near the line of scrimmage, which could involve potentially game-deciding calls of a forward pass vs. a fumble (see the infamous ‘Tuck Rule’). The position also shadows the wide receiver for the first five to seven yards, and who knows when the next Dez Bryant/Calvin Johnson ruling comes into effect. The only certainty is that when Thomas makes a call – right or wrong – that truly impacts the outcome of a game, expect venom from the negatively affected fanbase.
Unless Twitter decides to grow up in a hurry, words much worse than bitch will be tweeted. Her looks will be dissected. Her gender will bashed ad nauseam. Ask Ashley Judd, or any women who has anything to do with sports, for that matter.
But social media doesn’t decide how officials are officially evaluated. If Twitter had its way, long-time head referee Jeff Triplette would have been banished to officiating hell. Instead, he’s the President of the NFL’s Referees Association.
Luckily Thomas is ready for this moment and that includes developing a special brand of armor. She has already excelled at the collegiate level, garnered the respect of the NFL officiating ranks, and energized the NFL’s female fan base.
And she’s already nailed her first major call – abstaining from social media.
