Unless you’ve been completely ignoring the news lately, most of you probably know a new official just got hired for an on field position in the National Football League (NFL). Before I go on, it’s important you know there are differences between the titles of officials in various sports. For example, in football the official with the white hat provides the announcements and signals on television. He is called the referee and is the crew chief. He leads a crew of 6-7 other officials who may be called an umpire, line judge, headlinesman, field judge, side judge, center judge or back judge. In baseball, the officials are generally called umpires. In basketball and soccer, the officials are generally called referees. Interestingly though, most people simply refer to all sports officials as either referees or umpires.
So back to my point about one the new officials hired – a line judge to be specific – in the NFL. Football officials are being recruited and hired by the NFL every year, but this year is different. This year the first woman just entered the NFL as an official. My thoughts on this are iffy. I feel as if this is all for media attention and provides a political platform for the NFL to showcase that it embraces “diversity”. (This can also go back to the conversation we had in class about men and women in the workforce).
What I will say is that my dad, being a football official for ever 32 years and working his way up from high school, junior college, Division III, Division II and into the PAC-12 (NCAA Division I), Arena Football League, NFL Europe and The United Football League has worked for many years to get into the NFL. This year was definitely his best shot and he was one of the few who was invited into the coveted NFL Advanced Development Program. He has had formal interviews, extensive background checking, psychological testing all while maintaining his status as one of the top NFL candidates in the United States. Just this past January, those who working in hiring for the NFL, during yet another meeting told him he was “fully qualified” to work in the NFL for this upcoming season. Add to that, they indicated he possesses every quality as a professional and official that would be a good fit for the NFL.
Well, as fate would have it my dad did not get the call. The NFL is trying something new this year and are holding back on my dad for now. But I have seen the work my dad has put in for many years and I think he 100% deserves a shot. Having a woman who has worked very hard to make it into the NFL is okay with me. But, having a woman get hired by the NFL who does not have the experience or resume like the many well qualified officials she passed does not sit well with me. Hand picking and creating a career for an official because she is a woman with the idea it will create positive press just doesn't make sense to me and it hurts many of the officials, including my dad, who have worked very hard to try and make it into the NFL.
Having a woman officiate in the NFL will change a lot of things for a lot of people. One of the most basic of these things will be the need to create a separate locker room! I have been to big stadiums with my dad and most are not equipped for officials to require two separate rooms. Also, she will have to learn to cope with these massive players and her liability of getting seriously injured is at a very high level. To me it seems iffy to bring her in but it will be interesting to see how it goes. Feel free to comment your point of view on this. I am open to conversation.
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