The NFL has named a Black woman as an official for the first time.
Maia Chaka, a health and physical education teacher in the Virginia Beach zone, has taken part in the NFL’s officiating development program since 2014 while likewise administering at the college level.
Next season, she will make history when she takes the field in a NFL game.
“I am honored to be selected as an NFL official,” Chaka said in a statement. “But this moment is bigger than a personal accomplishment. It is an accomplishment for all women, my community, and my culture.”
Starting last November, 40 of the NFL’s 121 game officials are Black men.
The NFL recruited its first Black official, Burl Toler, in 1965 and its first full-time female official, Sarah Thomas, in 2015. The NFL has not reported what officiating position Chaka has been employed for.
“Maia’s years of hard work, dedication and perseverance — including as part of the NFL Officiating Development Program — have earned her a position as an NFL official,” Troy Vincent, Sr., NFL executive vice president of football operations, said in a statement. “As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Maia is a trailblazer as the first Black female official and inspires us toward normalizing women on the football field.”
