Jackson Free Press

For Sarah Thomas, being the first full-time female NFL game official, hired April 8, doesn't bring any new pressure for someone who has had many firsts as a woman in a male-dominated profession.

The Pascagoula native and Brandon resident began her career as an official for high-school football games in 1999 and has been working her way up the officiating ranks ever since.

Conference USA, the conference the University of Southern Mississippi is in, hired Thomas as an official in 2006. She was the first woman to work as an official in a major college football game (University of Memphis v. Jacksonville State University), which was in 2007. She continued breaking barriers at the college level when she became the first woman to work as an official in a Big Ten stadium in 2011 when Northwestern University hosted Rice University. Thomas also became the first woman to officiate a bowl game in 2009 when she worked Marshall University v. Ohio University in the Little Caesars Bowl. She also worked the C-USA Championship Game in 2010 and 2014, and the Senior Bowl and Fight Hunger Bowl.

This won't be the first time Thomas has worked for the NFL. She joined the league's official development program in 2013 and 2014. Thomas has worked mini camps for the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints in recent years.

The NFL has been trying to make strides with women since last season's seemingly unending events involving players and women. The league is trying to be more progressive, but not at the sake of hurting the game, as Thomas has nearly two decades as an official under her belt. In a perfect world, Thomas would be seen as just another official How fans and the media treat her first blown call will be something to watch.

Anyone who has watched NFL games the past few years knows Thomas can't be as bad as many of the male officials. The playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions shows that men can spectacularly screw up a game.

The point is that every official makes mistakes, and gender doesn't keep a person from blowing a call. Thomas has earned the right to succeed or fail based on her merits—not her gender.

Follow sportswriter Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports and at facebook.com/jfpsports.