Feeling Angst For The Class of 2020

We are a few hours from me and other Houston-Harris County residents having to deal with a stay at home order starting at 11:59 PM CDT tonight. 

But instead of thinking about that, I find myself thinking about the younglings. The ones I'm specifically thinking about are the ones in the Class of 2020.

My own high school graduation was 40 years ago, and assuming the COVID-19 crisis has calmed down by the second week of October, I'm eagerly anticipating getting together with my JJ classmates for our 40th high school reunion.

Hollywood has frequently produced over the last few decades movies from The Breakfast Club to Cooley High to Fast Times at Ridgemont High and TV shows like Boy Meets World and Saved By The Bell that all have high school as a backdrop or as a major part of the story. 

So when you finally do get old enough to enter high school yourself, you have because of all those different depictions of high school life Hollywood style, all these heightened expectations as a high school freshman or sophomore because of it. 

On top of that is your parents reminiscing about their high school days as you begin to tackle navigating that new world and figuring out your place in it.

But back to talking about the class of 2020.

The reason I'm feeling some angst for them is because I remember what it was like to go through my own senior year and my excitement when the 1980 calendar page turned to May.  While I had my own challenges graduating while trans, I and my Class With Class schoolmates had waited three years for our turn to go through Senior Week after watching the Classes of 1978 and 1979 do so.

And it's why I feel sad for the Class of 2020.

Their senior year just abruptly ended with no Senior Week, no Senior Skip Day, no prom, and no graduation commencement ceremony with all their friends and extended family in attendance.

The Class of 2020 also gets no last day of high school to add an exclamation point to the reality that ready or not, a chapter of your life is closing, a new one is beginning, and you've  just gone through a rite of passage into young adulthood from your teen years.

For those Class of 2020 seniors involved in spring sports like basketball, baseball, track and field, tennis, wrestling and soccer, the pain is particularly acute.

While in Texas the girls managed to get their full state basketball tournament schedule done in San Antonio and crown champions from Class A to 6A, because the boys tournament happens a week later, that wasn't the case for them.

The boys got to play and complete one 3A semifinal game in San Antonio's Alamodome before the UIL made the reluctant call to shut down the rest of the boys state tournament.

Imagine how the 2020 senior kids feel who participate in spring sports that didn't get a chance to progress to state championships, or who may have been working on historic seasons for their schools when things were shut down.

If I was in a Class of 2020 member's shoes, I'd feel a little cheated, frustrated and mildly pissed off about how my senior year ended.

Deep down, my rational thinking self would note the fact we're in the uncharted territory of a worldwide pandemic, but my thoughts would still go back to we'd waited three to four years for our turn to bask in the glow of Senior Week, and now that's been shut down and ripped away from us. 

The gut punch to all of this is that you only go through high school once, and once this moment in time passes, that;s it.  It's gone as soon as you step off that high school campus for the last time. .

So yes Class of 2020,  I do feel your pain right now

Martina Navratilova Comes Out As A Transphobe

As you longtime TransGriot readers are aware of, I am a huge tennis fan and played on my high school's varsity tennis team.

I not only followed Renee Richards emerging story back then, but her ultimately successful federal civil rights lawsuit against the US Open in 1977 that allowed her to play professional tennis a s a trans women

I also remember when Martina Navratilova came out in 1981, and endured homophobic abuse and misgendering shade thrown at her as she became with Renee Richards' help as her coach, one of the all time tennis greats with 18 Grand Slam title wins to her credit.

She has also been an advocate for lesbian and gay rights.   Not so much when it comes to the 'T' in TBLGQ.

Navratilova solidified her status as a transphobe when she penned a transphobic and TERFy sounding article in the Sunday Times of London that stated trans women competing in women's sports is 'insane' and is 'cheating'

“It’s insane and it’s cheating. I am happy to address a transgender woman in whatever form she prefers, but I would not be happy to compete against her. It would not be fair,” wrote Navratilova in that article.

Naw you hypocrite.  What's insane is your comment.  I also note that you didn't complain or have a problem when you beat Renee Richards three times when you played her, so have several sections of seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium on that one.

This also comes in the wake of transphobic comments Navratilova made back in December in which she slammed Dr Rachel McKinnon, who became the first out trans feminine athlete to win a track cycling world title back in October .

Naw Martina, you do not get to get to hold Renee Richards up as a human shield to deflect the justified comments we have for you making your loud, wrong and transphobic statements, especially in light of the fact that Republican controlled states like South Dakota are trying to pass laws banning trans youth from competing in sports.

.I find it interesting that cis feminine people like yourself as long as you're beating trans feminine athletes have no problem with competing against us in the women's sporting ranks.but the nanosecond we trans women start winning events,  all of a sudden it's 'unfair'.

Miss me with that transphobic noise.   That BS laden argument about trans women dominating cis women in competition hasn't happened yet anywhere on the planet.

Know how many Grand Slam titles your homegirl Renee Richards won during her playing career?   Same as Anna Kournikova...ZERO   Know how many trans Olympic athletes we have had since we've been allowed by the IOC to compete?  ZERO

The only trans feminine person that has even made an appearance at the Olympics was model Lea T, and she was one of the national placard models during the Rio Games opening ceremonies.

It is an argument that is also insulting and disrespectful to cis feminine athletes, and one we're tired of hearing in Trans World.

And you damned right we trans advocates, parents of trans kids, and our accomplices are going to swiftly call out and snatch the wigs of you or anyone else making loud and wrong transphobic claims about our community and think we're just going to let that crap stand.

You can be mad and stay mad about that.

Oh, one more thing.  How about you read a book or two along with the science backing up the IOC policy that allows trans feminine athletes to compete in  sports as is our right to do so.

Pat Manuel Making History As A Trans Masculine Pro Boxer

Before transition, he fought in the 2012 US Olympic trials.  He's endured physical rehab, chest surgery, the fight to cut through red tape and get licensed as a boxer, and a multiyear journey to get to this point.

But tomorrow night, 33 year old Pat Manuel will step into a ring in Indio, CA  and make history.

"We keep being told that to be a high level successful athlete, you have to be born in a man's body." says Cyd Zeigler of Outsports. "and that anyone born in a man's body has an automatic advantage over anyone born in a female body.  People like Pat are showing that transgender men can compete at the highest levels against cisgender men."

"It is not just powerful for the trans community, but it really should open our eyes to the foolishness of the stereotypes we've always had about gender in sports." Zeigler continues.

"I'm not the type of person that is just going in there for a participation trophy, my goal is to win,"said Manuel. "My mindset isn't really thinking about the history of this.  It's more thinking about going in there and performing as an athlete."

He's correct about that point.  It isn't his job to think about the historic trailblazing nature of this bout.  Thinking and talking about the history of this event is my job. 

He'll become the first out trans masculine person to box professionally when he takes on Mexico's Hugo Aguilar tomorrow night.  Manuel has already fought an amateur bout as a trans masculine person back in 2016, which he won by decision in three rounds. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens in his first professional bout.

I hope that debut as a professional boxer is a successful one.

Jose Altuve and JJ Watt Named SI Sportspersons Of The Year

The SI Sportsperson of the Year has been chosen by Sports Illustrated since the magazine's 1954 founding to 'honor the person or team whose performance most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement'.

Even though Sports Illustrated is a US based publication, non American athletes are also eligible to win that year award.  There have also been several years in which multiple athletes have won the award.

This wear we finally had athletes who represent two Houston sports teams win the SI Sportsperson of the Year award in Jose Altuve and JJ Watt. 

We all are aware of the awesomeness of the Houston Texans all world defensive lineman, but he also has a heart as big as the over 600 square miles of Houston.

As H-town was reeling in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's devastation, Watt raised $37 million for relief efforts here. 

Altuve is not only a humanitarian who devotes time to several causes here in the Houston area, also led the Houston Astros to their first ever World Series title in a memorable playoff run for this team.  Altuve also captured the American League MVP along the way   

It has been an amazing sports year in Houston with the Astros title, the Dynamo making it to the MLS Western Conference finals and the Rockets getting off to a strong start in the 2017-18 NBA season.   Altuve and Watt winning the SI Sportsperson of the Year just adds an exclamation point to it.

Dale Hansen Unplugged- Mack Beggs

Whenever I'm in the Dallas-Ft Worth area and have time to watch the local news there, I tune into WFAA-TV 8 so I can watch Dale Hansen's sports reports and his 'Hansen Unplugged' commentary.  

Yesterday he commented on Euless Trinity trans wrestler Mack Beggs' Texas Class 6A girls wrestling state championship in his weight class and the stuck on stupid UIL trans athletic policy that led to it.

Beggs because of the lack of UIL vision and their transphobia, was forced to despite being on testosterone for his transition and he and his family asking he allowed to wrestle against boys, forced by UIL bureaucrats to wrestle against girls.

That lack of UIL vision led to Beggs undefeated 56-0 championship season that shined a glaring spotlight on how unfair the UIL policy was to all concerned.   It will hopefully lead the UIL idiots in Austin to change it to mirror the more progressive NCAA standards.  

Here's Dale Hansen's commentary on Mack Beggs..

 

Mack Beggs Is The Texas Class 6A State Wrestling Champ!

Good luck Mack!.  Hope you leave the area with a historic state title win, and next year the UIL comes to its senses and allows you to wrestle against boys as you wish to do.
-TransGriot

And the first part of that statement is exactly what happened.

Mack Beggs is the 2017 Texas Class 6A state wresting champion in his 110 pound weight class after winning his girls championship match 12-1 against Chelsea Sanchez of Katy Morton Ranch HS to cap off an undefeated season.

That's not a typo.   The Texas Class 6A Girls state wrestling champion in his 110 pound weight class.

The 'Mack Attack' would have rather done so in the 6A boys division and been on the Trinity HS boys team.   UIL policy forces Texas trans athletes to compete based on the birth certificate gender marker and not their gender presentation.  

They denied the Trinity HS junior his request to compete in the boys division, and the result is the lousy no-win optics for him, his fellow competitors, and the UIL as he rolled through an undefeated 56-0 season to a state title.

Mack is also on testosterone as part of his gender transition, and that was also permissible because Mack was taking it for medical reasons, and his testosterone was below the allowed limit.

The UIL is still trying to defend the indefensible transphobic rules they put in place, and claim there's 'no interest' in changing the rules that allowed this messed up situation to happen in the first place.

But the UIL needs to join us in the 21st century and base high school athletic competition for Texas trans kids on gender presentation and not their birth certificate.

It's either the UIL come to that realization on their own or have the change forced upon them by legal action.

Mack Beggs' 6A Wrestling Championship Run Highlights UIL's Flawed Trans Athlete Policy

Mack Beggs is a trans masculine wrestler at Euless Trinity High School in the Dallas-Ft Worth area who is a few matches away from capturing the Texas 6A wrestling title in his 110 pound weight class.

The Texas 6A girls wrestling title.

Is it fair to the cis girls he is competing against in his weight class?  Nope not to them or Beggs, who would rather be competing against the cis boys.  The University Interscholastic League (UIL) the governing body for Texas high school sports and academic competitions, turned down a request made by Beggs and his family for the Trinity HS junior to be allowed to compete against boys.

The UIL is still defensive when you point out what's happening.  They say it was an open process that reflected the consensus of thought at the time, even as Texas trans people and others were warning the UIL the jacked up rules they were passing were problematic.

Last year the UIL's school superintendents and athletic directors voted to require that Texas transgender students compete based on the gender on their birth certificate instead of gender presentation,

He's in the Houston 'burbs competing in the 6A wrestling state championship meet being held at the Berry Center in Cypress this weekend.  He has successfully gotten through the first day of the 6A wrestling championship with his two opening round wins to go 54-0 on the season

But it's no thanks to the UIL that this awkward situation is taking place at all and Beggs is the favorite to be holding the Class 6A title in his weight class when the tournament ends on Saturday.

Beggs won the Region II 6A title in Allen last week after his opponent Madeline Rocha of Coppell HS forfeited the match.  Rocha still advanced to this weekend's championship matches as the regional runner up.

Nancy Beggs, Mack's grandmother and guardian said to the Dallas Morning News, "Today was not about their students winning.  Today was about bias, hatred and ignorance."

"Mack is challenging what people thought was a good policy," said Chris Mosier, founder of TransAthlete.com. "This very well may spark change from people just by seeing how the policy was not well thought out and this is the outcome of following the rules exactly as they are."
Texas is one of seven regressive states that requires trans people to compete in high school athletic competition based on the gender marker on your birth certificate instead of the more enlightened NCAA and IOC gender presentation standards.

Lou Weaver, who is the Transgender Programs Coordinator for Equality Texas and was in attendance at today's historic championship  match, points out in a Reuters story that Beggs is in compliance with current UIL rules that need to be changed, "so guys like Mack can wrestle with their peers, which would be on the boys team."

Sure hope so because that's what we trans Texans want to be able to do.  We wish to compete in whatever sport we choose as ourselves, with our peers and without unnecessary drama.

Good luck Mack!.  Hope you leave the area with a historic state title win, and next year the UIL comes to its senses and allows you to wrestle against boys as you wish to do.

Trans Cycling Trailblazer Jillian Bearden Wins 2016 El Tour de Tucson

One of the people I met during my recent trip to Tucson was cyclist Jillian Bearden, who was in town for the El Tour de Tucson bike race and has founded the Transnational Women's Cycling Team, the world's first transgender cycling group that will make its debut in 2017

The El Tour de Tucson was conducted on Saturday, and I was happy to discover that Jillian made a little trans sporting history.  While riding for SAGA (Southern Arizona Gender Alliance) in her first El Tour de Tucson, she won the women's division 106 mile race in a time of 4:36.07.

And as you probably guessed, there were some haters spouting the same transphobic and sexist BS we hear any time a trans woman competes and wins in a sporting event.

The 36 year old Colorado Springs native is sponsored by the Colorado based Naked Women's Racing and has been racing competitively for 10 years.   Bearden has also been one of the people pushing for inclusion and change in the sport of cycling, and has been working with the International Olympic Committee, USA Cycling and other international cycling groups to make it happen.

"Last January, the IOC released a document that said you can compete if you fall under these criteria. With that being said, more policies are coming out, so there's more work to be done to have acceptance worldwide and not just nationally."

But as you probably guessed, she was thrilled to have won the El Tour, one of the largest participatory sporting events in southern Arizona in her first attempt.  She also recognized the significance of this moment for the trans community.

"It's absolutely huge," Bearden said.  "We're at a moment in time - especially now - where not only do we have to come out but we have to be positive.  We have to come together in solidarity and move the country in a direction that is accepting of all."

Congratulations Jillian!  This was an amazing accomplishment and another example of transpeople doing what they love and making history as they simply handle their business.  It's also another example of us accomplishing great things if we're simply given an opportunity to do so.

Will we see Jillian at a future Tour de France or at the 2020 Olympics?   Sure hope so.

'Back To The Future II' Was Right! Cubs Win!

While I was watching that thrilling World Series Game Seven that ended over a century of frustration for the Chicago Cubs, it hit me that the Back To The Future II movie that was set in October 2015 had a scene in which the news video board in Hill Valley flashed news of the Cubs winning the World Series.

It was against a team that didn't exist at the time the movie was released in 1989 in the Miami Marlins,.  The Marlins only came into existence two tears after the movie debuted and they are a National League franchise. not an American League one.

Something else the movie got right along with the handheld tablet computers and multiple television channels,   Still waiting for my hoverboard and the self lacing Nikes.

The movie predicting the Cubs being world champions was off by a year and in real life it was against the Cleveland Indians ,but at this point long suffering Cubs fans don't care.  They have waited 108 years for this moment to happen and I definitely feel their joy.  I experienced it myself when the Rockets finally broke through in 1994 and ended our H-town sports title drought..

Waiting for the Astros to finally win that elusive World Series title after a series of frustrating playoff losses..

Back To The Future II was right   The Cubs are champions of the American baseball world. Somewhere Harry caray is smiling about that along with Cubs fans there and around the country.

2016 ESPN The Body Issue Includes A Trans Athlete

The ESPN The Magazine's The Body Issue has been featuring since 2009 nude and semi nude photos of elite athletes for several years now

The 2016 edition is due out next month, and when it does hit the newsstands it will feature a little trans history.   Chris Mosier is a trailblazing duathlete, advocate for trans athletes and the first out trans athlete to qualify for a US national team,

Now he is also the first out trans athlete to appear in the pages of the ESPN The Body Issue.

Mosier said in an interview with ESPN's Christina Kahrl that he has wanted to be in that issue for over a year, and now he has accomplished that goal.

"There are a lot of people making history right now, and they just may not be as public as I am,"said Mosier.

'I think the reason I felt so inspired to do it is because I'm finally at a place that i fell very comfortable with my body. And as a trans person, being in a body that really didn't fit me for 29 years, now I feel very comfortable in my own skin," he added.

You can look for the 2016 The Body Issue featuring Chris and other elite athletes starting on July 8  

Will UH Be Heading To The Big 12?

Ever since the Southwest Conference broke up and TCU and UH were shadily left out of the merger of the SWC and Big 8 no thanks to former UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds, the end goal has been to get UH collegiate athletics back into a Power 5 conference where it belongs.

Dodds motivation for dissing UH during the formative stages of the Big 12 besides his burnt orange hatred for UH probably includes the fact he wanted to be able to have the lion's share of the Houston metro area's elite high school talent coming to Forty Acres instead of their local university on Cullen Blvd.

He knew firsthand that UH while in the SWC routinely and gleefully spanked the Longhorns and a University of Houston in the Big 12 would continue doing so.

But with the Big 12 having only ten teams (you need twelve to host a conference championship game) and with Texas A&M now being a member of the SEC, if the rumors and reports I'm hearing are correct looks like UH may finally get what it has been seeking since 1996 and become a member of the Big 12.

ESPN.com is reporting that UH, Memphis, Colorado State and UCF are lobbying the Big 12 in anticipation of the next round of league expansion.   If the Big 12 was wise it would expand to 14 teams, not just 12 as an insurance policy in case someone leaves for greener conference pastures.

Will we get to see the #HtownTakeover at a Big 12 stadium near you?  Maybe  Since they were unceremoniously kicked to the curb, things have changed.dramatically on campus.  It is a Tier One research institution like UT and Texas A&M, and is the third largest school in the state of Texas.

It is still sitting in the fourth largest city in the United States, is in the top area for Texas high school talent in all sports, is in a Top 10 TV market (number 7), and now has a METRO light rail line rolling past the west and south sides of the campus with a stop on the doorstep of the west gates of  the 40,000 seat (expandable to 60,000 seats) on campus TDECU Stadium.

UH is also a natural fit for the Big 12, and has rivalries with the four current Texas schools that would instantly be rekindled should they be extended an invitation to join the conference.

Also in UH's favor is many schools in the Big 12, with SEC member Texas A& M nearby, continue to express the sentiment that the league needs to decisively act to take back the Houston area as a Big 12 bastion before another Power 5 conference snaps us up.

In addition, the Big 12 North schools want Houston in the conference so they have a crack at recruiting the talent rich Houston area.  Their recruiting pipelines to the Houston area vanished after Texas A&M SECeded, and they need the ability to play a regular scheduled game in Houston so that they can have a shot at recruiting the Houston area's talented kids against the Texas Big 12 schools.

Even the current players in the Big 12, when they are surveyed, would like to see UH extended an invitation to join the conference.

And even more delicious for Cougar fans, UH membership in the league in addition to accomplishing a mission we've been on since being dissed and dismissed in 1996 means that the Texas based Big 12 schools could no longer run from playing us anymore.

While the Big XII continues to publicly downplay they are expanding, University of Oklahoma president David Boren,  Kansas State coach Bill Snyder and Baylor head coach Art Briles have been pushing for Big XII expansion.  It was confirmed that University of West Virginia president Gordon Gee, who sits on the Big XII expansion committee, paid UH a visit back in November.  

The November 30 UH campus visit wasn't for expansion purposes, but Gee quickly found himself in UH president Renu Khator's office for an hour, met UH head football coach Tom Herman, and was escorted by UH AD Hunter Yurachek, several members of the UH Board of Regents on a tour of the UH athletic facilities.  

So will we see the Cougars in the Big 12?  Sure hope so. UH will get a taste of Big 12 play when they open the season with Oklahoma at NRG stadium September 3, and we'll find out next month whether it happens for us.

If it does, I'd love to go to the Jerrydome and watch my boys play in a Big XII title game, or see a basketball game at a sold out renovated Hofheinz Pavilion against Kansas

And I'd love to see my Cougars once again routinely beating the hell out of Texas.

Countdown To Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 will be taking place  in Santa Clara next Sunday, and even though my favorite NFL team won't be involved in it, I will have a rooting interest in one of the teams that will playing in this year's NFL championship game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers..

There are also some interesting historical nuggets as we approach the kickoff time for this game. Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is now the second Latino head coach after the Oakland Raiders Tom Flores to make it to the title game. 

He also wants to be like his idol Flores, the second Latino head coach to win a Super Bowl.   Flores as the hard coach of the Oakland/LA Raiders coached them to NFL titles twice in 1981 and 1984.

For the third straight year, a team with an African-American starting quarterback will be in the Super Bowl house.   Russell Wilson of the Seahawks was that quarterback the last two years and won (2014) and lost (2015) one, and this year it will be Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers representing at the QB spot..

Newton will be bidding to make some Black history by attempting to join Doug Williams and Wilson as African-American NFL starting quarterbacks that have won a Super Bowl.   Ironically both of those wins by Black quarterbacks in 1988 and 2014 came at the expense of the Denver Broncos, this Sunday's opponent.

Newton will be trying to do so against a quarterback in Peyton Manning who may be playing in his last Super Bowl.

As to who I'm picking to walk away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy next week?    I'll let y'all know on Friday.

Serena's 2015 SI Sportsperson Of The Year Acceptance Speech

Y'all know I'm ride or die for Serena Williams, and was pleased to hear that she was named the 2015 Sportsperson of the Year.   She became the first woman to win the prestigious award by herself and not as part of a team since 1983.

And then Serena's racist haters unleashed their vitriol, with some of those racist haters being on the LA Times payroll.  I had my say about it along with other social commentators.

But here's Serena in a dropping the mic moment as she accepted the award and dropped some truth nukes while doing so.

Just an FYI haters, the Australian Open starts January 18   Hope that's the start of a Golden Slam for one of my fave tennis players and the Greatest Of All Time, if not her generation.


 

Sarah Thomas' First Regular Season NFL Game Was In H-town

Didn't find this out until this disastrous Texans home opening game was nearly over, but some NFL history was made in Houston today.

The NFL officiating crew working today's Chiefs-Texans game at NRG Stadium included Sarah Thomas, the first woman hired as a full time referee by the NFL

This was her first regular season game a a rookie NFL official, and Thomas was the line judge in this Chiefs-Texans game.  The line judge is responsible for spotting the offsides calls on the line of scrimmage.

She was better than three of her male counterparts who missed two pass interference calls Kansas City committed against the Texans along with another end zone downing call that nearly went against the Texans but they sorted it out.

You're doing a good job as an official when the commentators DON'T call your name, and she's also downplaying her trailblazing role as the NFL's first female full time official

Considering her journey to get to the NFL and the trailblazing things she accomplished as a collegiate official, won't be shocked if Thomas is making history as part of a Super Bowl officiating crew.

Arizona Cardinals Hire First Ever NFL Female Coaching Staff Member

When the Arizona Cardinals gather at University of Phoenix Stadium for their first training camp practice on August 1, there will be a woman standing on the sidelines watching practice, and she won't be holding a mike, be a player or coach's wife or a cheerleader.

The Arizona Cardinals have hired 37 year old Dr. Jen Welter for their training camp as a linebacker coaching intern  

Welter played 14 years professionally as a linebacker and running back, and one year against the boys in the the Champions Indoor Football League for the Dallas based Texas Revolution as a running back and special teams player before moving to coaching.

Welter has some impressive credentials besides actually playing football.   She is a Boston College grad with a master's degree in sports psychology and a doctorate in psychology.

So yeah, are the NFL boys ready for her?  If she can make them better players, they don't care.   And if the Cardinals like what they see, this training camp hire could turn into a full season gig for her.

Coaching is nothing more than teaching,” cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians said Monday. “One thing I have learned from players is, ‘How are you going to make me better? If you can make me better, I don’t care if you’re the Green Hornet, man, I’ll listen.’ I really believe she’ll have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open some doors for


At any rate, she's not only making history, but potentially opening doors for herself and other women who wish to have coaching careers in the NFL.

NFL Hires First Ever Female Referee

The 2015 NFL officials pool will have a groundbreaking member added to it in Sarah Thomas, who was recently hired as the NFL's first ever full time female official

The 41 year old Thomas is a mother of three and pharmaceutical sales rep when she's not on the gridiron, and growing up played softball and basketball.   She began her officiating career at the high school level in Mississippi and by 1996 was officiating at the Division I-A level in the state.

At that  time, the NFL wasn't the goal, but by 2007 Thomas was working games at the collegiate level in Conference USA.   In 2009 she became the first woman to officiate a college bowl game, the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, and has worked the Senior Bowl, the Fight Hunger Bowl, and the Medal of Honor Bowl in addition to the C-USA Championship Games in 2010 and 2014.

She also worked two seasons as an official in the defunct United Football League.

In 2011 she became the first woman to officiate a game in a Big Ten stadium when Rice played Northwestern,, and was in the NFL's officiating development program in 2013-14 working NFL preseason games, minicamps, and training camps.

"My goal has always been to be the best line judge I can be any time I get the opportunity,"said Thomas at a Wednesday press conference. "I feel honored and blessed to be in the National Football League now."

Thomas won't be the first woman to work an NFL regular season game.  That honor went to Shannon Eastin, who was called up during the 2012 NFL officials lockout and worked preseason and regular season NFL games until the lockout ended.

While Thomas is downplaying her role in sports history, it's still a big deal to a league which is decades behind the NBA, Major League Baseball and FIFA when it comes to having female officials calling their games.