From the establishment of the National Football League in 1920 to today, the industry has been controlled by men. While women have been incorporated into different roles in the front office and on the field, they still have little representation in the NFL.
There has yet to be a female general manager in the league. 1.9% of assistant coaches are women, and 25.3% of senior executive positions are held by women. The lack of representation not only reflects the systemic sexism within sports as a whole, but it also limits innovation by excluding qualified leaders. Below are some of the women who have made a tremendous difference in the world of sports.
Sarah Thomas
Thomas started her journey in sports playing basketball, going on to play collegiately for the University of Mobile. After graduating, she worked as a pharmaceutical representative. The Mississippi native entered the world of reffing in 1996 by attending a Gulf Coast Football Officials Association meeting. Fast forward to 2006, where Thomas is invited to an official’s camp by Gerry Austin, a referee in Super Bowls XXXI and XXXV. When Thomas established herself as a dedicated and skilled referee, she was hired by Conference USA. Austin praises Thomas, “She came highly recommended by two NFL scouts. She has a good presence and demeanor. I feel like she has the ability and courage to make a call, and the guts to not make one, too.”
Thomas refereed her first major collegiate game in 2007, which entailed a matchup between the University of Memphis and Jacksonville State University. During the 2009 college football season, Thomas was the only woman to referee a Bowl Game. That year, she was selected to officiate the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl between Marshall University and Ohio University. In 2011, Thomas became the first woman to officiate in a Big Ten stadium, acting as the line judge in a game between the Northwestern Wildcats and Rice Owls.
After officiating scrimmages and mini camps for two years, Thomas was named the first female referee in NFL history on April 8th, 2015. Thomas continued her NFL journey in 2017 by elevating her role from a line judge to a down judge. Two years later, Thomas was named to the crew to officiate the 2019 playoff game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers, making her the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game. Thomas proves her excellence after she is selected to be a referee in Super Bowl LV. Thomas comments on being a woman working as a referee: “Everybody has been very professional, and they look at me just like another official.”
Off the field, Thomas is married to Brian Thomas. The couple has three kids, and they reside in Mississippi.
Sandra Douglass Morgan
Sandra Douglass Morgan is the President of the Las Vegas Raiders. What’s more, she is the first ever African American and Asian woman President of a National Football League team. Morgan was raised in Nevada; from her adolescence to her time in college, she stayed close to home. In 1999, Morgan graduated from the University of Nevada with a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications. Four years later, Morgan received another degree from the University of Nevada William S. Boyd School of Law.
After receiving her law degree, Morgan worked as a defense attorney for MGM Resorts International. Three years later, Morgan began working for the City of North Las Vegas, where she eventually became the City Attorney. In her role, she provided transactional and advisory services and prosecuted certain misdemeanor violations. After eight years with the city, Morgan moved on and started working for AT&T, where she was in control of the legal affairs in Southern Nevada.
In 2022, Morgan became the President of the Las Vegas Raiders. Morgan deals with business operations, marketing, finances, and public relations associated with the Raiders. Her role helps ensure that the organization continues to run smoothly in-season, and during the offseason.
When Morgan was asked by The Cut on what advice she wishes she had received at the beginning of her career, she shares, “I wish someone would have told me to be more vocal in sharing my own goals, both personal and professional. It wasn’t until I made a pivot to go to a different job that my mentor and I had a conversation about what I was interested in doing and why I made the switch.” Morgan’s inspiring words emphasize self-advocacy, reminding women that they have the power to shape their own future, rather than walking down the already beaten path.
Hannah Gordon
Starting in high school and evolving through college, Gordon’s love for sports led her to a career in football. Gordon joined the Daily Bruin, the University of California Los Angeles’ newspaper, causing her to fall in love with football. Gordon shares in her interview with nfl.com, “…literally everything about the game made me want to just keep learning more. Then watching the organizational dynamics and human dynamics of what makes a winning team was so interesting to me that I never wanted to leave the sport.”
In 2002, Gordon was a PR Intern for the Oakland Raiders (Las Vegas Raiders), where she wrote website content. After graduating from UCLA, Gordon was an intern at the NFLPA as a content creator before heading to law school at Stanford University. Three years later after her graduation from Stanford Law, she was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as a Director of Legal Affairs. In this role, Gordon closed construction and financing for Levi’s Stadium.
In 2018, Gordon became the Chief Administrative Officer of the 49ers. In this position, she led the 49ers to become the first team to sign the Equal Pay Pledge, which forces organizations to close gender and racial pay gaps. In 2022, Gordon was once again promoted to be the Chief Legal and Administrative Officer where she founded a platform for LGBTQ+ fans, making them feel supported by the team they pour their hearts into. Gordon additionally debated parameters for certain events like the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup.
In 2023, Gordon launched her own consultancy, Hannah Gordon Advisors LLC. The UCLA alumni instructs major organizations for optimal impact alongside her team. Gordon speaks to the young women who want to work in football, “There is a lot of work that comes with it, but if you’re driven and want a career in football, you should do it, 100 percent.”
Ashton Washington
Ashton Washington is currently the Player Personnel Coordinator for the Chicago Bears.
Washington grew up in Mississippi, where her grandmother inspired her to face any
challenge that came to her head-on. Her grandmother, who told many stories of the Civil
Rights Movement, taught her countless lessons that translated into her everyday life as well
as football.
In 2019, Washington graduated from Huston-Tillotson University with a degree in
Communication and Media Studies. During her time in college, she worked for Rivals.com as
a Football Analyst, where she created reports on aspiring collegiate players from Texas.
Additionally, she worked for 24/7 Sports as the Director of Operations for Football.
Within a year of her graduation, Washington secured a job at the University of Illinois as an
Assistant Coach. In this role, she worked with former Chicago Bears coach, Lovie Smith, who
made a significant mark on Washington’s coaching knowledge and capabilities. In an
interview with the Chicago Bears’ Allegra Coleman, Washington shares, “He (Smith) had
tendencies of running our program like an NFL program, especially to get those players
ready. There’s a lot of similarities that I see or with stuff that’s transcended here and what I
do. I never knew that would help me to where I am now.”
After spending a year with the University of Illinois, she moves onto a role with Texas Tech
University as the Director of Recruiting Operations. Just a few months later, Washington
would move into Chicago’s front office as a Scouting Assistant, where she would soon
become the Player Personnel Coordinator. In this position, Washington manages the
administrative and strategic aspects of player recruitment and roster management.
