NFL Hires First Full-Time Female Official

The NFL has hired its first time full-time female official, reports the Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson.

Sarah Thomas, a native of Mississippi who began her officiating career in high school, officiated games before leaving to continue her career in pharmaceutical sales.

She was then contacted by Gerald Austin, who was a coordinator of football officials for Conference USA. Thomas started working for the conference in 2007 and became the first woman to officiate a bowl game in 2009.

She then joined the NFL’s Officiating Development Program, worked some New Orleans Saints‘ training camps, and also officiated a NFL preseason game last August.

Thomas told the NFL Network last year that she doesn’t feel like a pioneer and did not face any resistance from others while in the development program.

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“I set out to do this and get involved in officiating not having any idea that there were not any females officiating football” she said. “Being a former basketball player, you saw female officiating all the time, so no I don’t feel like a pioneer.”

In 2012, Shannon Eastin who was hired as a non-union official during the 2012 lockout by referees, was the first woman to officiate a regular season game in a contest between the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions.

This article originally appeared on SI.com.