Sarah Thomas never viewed herself as a pioneer even now that she is poised to break the gender barrier as the NFL's first permanent woman official.
Thomas, who worked preseason games and the New Orleans Saints minicamp this past spring as a line judge, will become the league's first full-time female official during the 2015 season, a person familiar with her ground-breaking hiring told USA TODAY Sports.
That person spoke on condition of anonymity since the league has yet to announce the hiring of its seven new officials for this season. The Baltimore Sunwas first to report Thomas' historic achievement.
Thomas is a former small school point guard who considered it cool when she was considered one of the guys working with an NFL officiating crew this past preseason. She became a rising star in the league's officiating developmental program established three years ago.
Thomas kept her love of sports alive by working her way up the ladder in officiating the biggest games after her brother encouraged her.
"If I am there permanently next year as a full-time official it would just be tremendous,'' Thomas, 41, a mother of three told USA TODAY Sports last June. "I've always said as far as breaking the gender barrier, you never set out to do that.''
Shannon Eastin, who worked as a replacement official during the 2012 NFL referee lockout was the first woman to officiate an NFL regular-season game.
Thomas became the first woman to officiate an NCAA game in 2007 and in 2009, and was one of five female officials in major college football, as well as the only one at the Football Bowl Subdivsion level. She was selected to work the 2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl between Marshall and Ohio, making her the first woman to officiate a college bowl game.
"She is very football savvy,'' the person familiar with Thomas' hiring told USA TODAY Sports. "She worked in Division 1 for seven years. She has great instincts on the field. She has very good knowledge of the rules. And the most important thing is she has a very good understanding of the spirit of the game in which the rules need to be applied. She is capable of applying them as the game is played.''
