http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/report-nfl-hires-sarah-thomas-as-its-first-female-official-040315 I guess they learned nothing from the NBA. I am not defending the dimwits who ref games now. Half of them at least should be let go. But does anyone really believe she was selected because she was the best available?
With all due respect for a great ET poster, I must rebuke brother AAA for his obvious lack of expertise in the area of the proficiency of a professional referee. Brother AAA, nobody...nobody who makes it to the level of "pro" in the the NFL, NBA, or MLB should be referred to as a dimwit. These guys can start at the bottom and pursue their dream of climbing up to the pro level for many years. Some make it...Many don't. If you think that half of them should be let go, you'd go nuts if you knew what those with lesser skills would provide to the games, once they were "promoted" to the pro level. Being a pro level official is not something that is achieved lightly. It is a highly significant event to attain that level of expertise. Now, to your question about the female ref: This is just my opinion, of course, but I'm betting it was done for the PC reason. Women, in the sports culture, more especially in the area of football, have typically not been participants in the referee side of the game. So, unless this woman is an exception, it would be reasonable in today's PC culture that that is why she has been picked. But, let's give her a chance to prove herself. The answer will soon become very clear.
You are no doubt right, as I was exaggerating to make a point, but you have to concede that Jeff Triplett is the exception. I am a Redskins fan, so don't accuse me of loving the Cowboys, but they got robbed against GB last year. No way that wasn't a catch. Morons.
While we cannot know how much applies to this particular individual, women as a group tend to be more emotionally driven and less objective. Thus, (as a rule) they make for poor referees. I mean, even the guys have a hard time pulling this off, seems like most games I watch the ref #@*&s up one call or another. And to be fair, sometimes I make the wrong call and the instant replay shows me wrong and the ref right. But I am not a pro. We'll see how this broad does. I don't care about the sex of the referees, frankly. Just like to see the games properly called. If it turned out that the best referees were homos or liberals or transvestites or animal #@&^ers, then I'd be happy to see them calling the game - I do not care. Just make good calls! Anyway, that explains why there are few female refs. Just like the fact that blacks (as a group) have denser bones, more muscle mass and lower IQ. Doesn't count on any particular person, but explains why so many are pro NFL players but not so much QBs.