Possibility female ref(s) in NFL this yr

[Vltrophy1]

I mean no offense what so ever. IMO there should be no females refs in the NFL. Yes the game has been toned down some but even some of the best refs get knocked on their butt by 250lbs +. I'm interested in the opinions of others especially those of the female gender. B/c if they allow this & she gets knocked on her butt by accident she has no right to complain.

[DILLIGAFER]

Are you serious? I dont know too many Men that could whoop my butt. 5'8 160lbs of farm girl butt kickin muscles. I have boxed, wrestled, played football, fast pitch, former LE, Military training, I do solo backpacking Elk hunts at 10,000+ ft. So dont think for one second a woman cant handle herself on a football field. As long as she is fit, knowledgeable, and fair, why not?

Heck, I'm interested, where do I sign the contract to ref? NFL, BRING IT ON!!

[21isSuperman]

So if a male ref gets hit by a 250 lbs LB, he can complain, but a girl official can't? That makes no sense. I don't care what the gender of the ref is. All that matters is that he or she can do a good, fair job of reffing a game.

[MIColtsFan]

So if a male ref gets hit by a 250 lbs LB, he can complain, but a girl official can't? That makes no sense. I don't care what the gender of the ref is. All that matters is that he or she can do a good, fair job of reffing a game.

exactly! I can't believe it hasn't happened already...

[Susie Q]

Maybe some of the female refs can do a better job than some of the male refs or at least be more consistent on their calls. Might be interesting to see.

At least for the guys they might be better to look at.

[shakedownstreet]

if i got hit by one of those guy, i doubt i'd be able to get back up (male)

if you take the job, you have no right to complain about getting hit incidentally. gender has nothing to do with it whatsoever

[Moncrief]

Are you serious? I dont know too many Men that could whoop my butt. 5'8 160lbs of farm girl butt kickin muscles. I have boxed, wrestled, played football, fast pitch, former LE, Military training, I do solo backpacking Elk hunts at 10,000+ ft. So dont think for one second a woman cant handle herself on a football field. As long as she is fit, knowledgeable, and fair, why not?

Heck, I'm interested, where do I sign the contract to ref? NFL, BRING IT ON!!

[The Fish]

In a perfect world this wouldn't be an issue. As it stands, where are the experienced female football refs currently? I've never seen one, so I doubt they'd be prepared to work the NFL in a few weeks.

[Thewholefnshow28]

This thread is going to end well.

The NFL just needs to get this deal done with the refs so we do not have to worry about crappy replacement refs.

[DILLIGAFER]

Just makin a point. Not all women are makeup wearing, purse loving, shoe buying girlies. Some of us are gun toting, mountain climbing, football lovin' women. Chic, chic, boom!

[shakedownstreet]

[Vance]

Yeah I don't see a problem with them reffing...I'd just count down the days until some D-lineman says the wrong thing and gets everyone in trouble and then you're gonna get so many people asking if females should be refs or not.

Just makin a point. Not all women are makeup wearing, purse loving, shoe buying girlies. Some of us are gun toting, mountain climbing, football lovin' women. Chic, chic, boom!

Marry me?

[DILLIGAFER]

Yeah I don't see a problem with them reffing...I'd just count down the days until some D-lineman says the wrong thing and gets everyone in trouble and then you're gonna get so many people asking if females should be refs or not.

Marry me?

I've been taken for 12 years .. ;)

[ReMeDy]

If the referee has the right American football qualifications, I'm all for it. As it stands though, I don't know of any females who would have that kind of experience. They should have experience at the college level and should have worked NFL sidelines in some capacity, otherwise I say no.

We need to have more female referees at the college level before we can start talking NFL.

[Rich Cannon]

If the referee has the right American football qualifications, I'm all for it. As it stands though, I don't know of any females who would have that kind of experience. They should have experience at the college level and should have worked NFL sidelines in some capacity, otherwise I say no.

We need to have more female referees at the college level before we can start talking NFL.

I dont necessarily agree with female refs but if it were to happen it should def start at the college level first

[DILLIGAFER]

I dont necessarily agree with female refs but if it were to happen it should def start at the college level first

Please elaborate why.

Also, there are women refs at the college level.

[RGIII]

There are some activities which are physically more difficult for a woman than a man... and refereeing sure as heck isn't one of them. Collisions are an occupational hazard, for sure, but they tend to be pretty few and far between and are rarely severe (unlike what players have to deal with). Besides, the NFL has employed male refs well into their 60s and very few objections are ever raised about the risks involved with sending geriatrics out onto the gridiron.

You really have to draw heavily on stereotypes to come up with reasons why a woman shouldn't be allowed to be an NFL referee. As much as it's true that stereotypes do often have some basis in reality, it's also true that there are always tons of exceptions and I have no doubt that there are some women out there who could be much better than some of the refs we have right now.

[Superman]

Please elaborate why.

Also, there are women refs at the college level.

Really? I'll take your word for it, but I don't remember ever seeing one. Are we talking D-1 refs?

By the way, I don't see the problem. A woman ref is going to have to deal with the contact she very well may take on the field, but it's really not a regular occurence to see a ref get knocked down, especially with any real impact during a play. It happens, but it's not that frequent. And there are refs like the back judge and the line judges who are nowhere near the action on the field.

The only issue that I think would pop up from time to time would be sexism, like the Ines Sainz incident. As someone else mentioned, there would be some unwanted attention from some of those players on the field, and the next thing you know, you have a harassment suit. Not saying it absolutely would happen, but it wouldn't surprise me. Unlike the Sainz issue, it would happen right in front of everyone, not in a locker room behind closed doors. Maybe that would actually be a deterrent, but that seems like a chemical reaction waiting to happen. I don't think that's a good reason not to have female refs, by the way. Just pointing it out.

[B-B]

I could care less who is officiating the game, as long as they have the experience and skill to do so, woman or man will be fine, I really see no plausible reasoning from barring women from the game as long as the official knows what they're doing

[DILLIGAFER]

SUPERMAN..

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/sports/ncaafootball/19ref.html

[Superman]

SUPERMAN..

http://www.nytimes.c...ball/19ref.html

Okay. And that was three years ago, so there may be even more than the article represents. Not an imposing presence, of course, so easy to miss. But I didn't know there were any.

[DILLIGAFER]

This gal broke the barrier for female football refs.

[BOTT]

Are you serious? I dont know too many Men that could whoop my butt. 5'8 160lbs of farm girl butt kickin muscles. I have boxed, wrestled, played football, fast pitch, former LE, Military training, I do solo backpacking Elk hunts at 10,000+ ft. So dont think for one second a woman cant handle herself on a football field. As long as she is fit, knowledgeable, and fair, why not?

Heck, I'm interested, where do I sign the contract to ref? NFL, BRING IT ON!!

5'8 160lbs? so you're the size of a small guy?

[chad72]

I'd put a bounty on who gets to go to dinner with her if she is fine (j/k).

[DILLIGAFER]

5'8 160lbs? so you're the size of a small guy?

Small guy? The average american man is only 5'9.. so your incorrect. I'm only an inch shorter than the average american male.

[DILLIGAFER]

In the mean time the average american woman is 5'4. So quintessentially I am an above average sized woman.

[Andy]

Hey, if a woman can do the job, then why not? There are a lot of men refs who can't do the job now.

[Girlzarefanstoo]

If a woman can do the job and is willing to take the risks and QUALIFIES without any special treatment - I have no problem with it.

NO special terms or conditions. NO "affirmative action" or quotas and I'm good with it.

[Vltrophy1]

If the referee has the right American football qualifications, I'm all for it. As it stands though, I don't know of any females who would have that kind of experience. They should have experience at the college level and should have worked NFL sidelines in some capacity, otherwise I say no.

We need to have more female referees at the college level before we can start talking NFL.

it would take some getting used to but only if they worked their way up & I've never seen a female ref in college high school or pee wee

[StewieG]

Could have swore there was a woman ref a few years ago in some NFL game I watched.

Could be wrong though.

[StewieG]

Could have swore there was a woman ref a few years ago in some NFL game I watched.

Could be wrong though.

Edit: Probably was thinking about the woman ref in college someone posted above.

[CR91]

i see no harm. women should have some more influence in the game then just being eye candy

[P-Money]

Get some of those lingerie league players to ref. I've seen some of those girls take some brutal hits by 3 or 4 other girls.

[The Peytonator]

Small guy? The average american man is only 5'9.. so your incorrect. I'm only an inch shorter than the average american male.

No. A guy that's 160 lbs is by definition, a small guy. I'm sure you're a tough chick and all, but there's really no debate that men are bigger, faster, and stronger. Obviously they aren't hiring Sylvester Stallone as refs, but the geriatrics that they do hire are no slouches. Ed Hochuli has got some guns, but he's said it himself, he's a shrimp compared to these players. Put a 130 lb woman out there and watch her get hit by a 250 lb linebacker running 20 MPH......if she gets up she can be a ref.

[DILLIGAFER]

No. A guy that's 160 lbs is by definition, a small guy. I'm sure you're a tough chick and all, but there's really no debate that men are bigger, faster, and stronger. Obviously they aren't hiring Sylvester Stallone as refs, but the geriatrics that they do hire are no slouches. Ed Hochuli has got some guns, but he's said it himself, he's a shrimp compared to these players. Put a 130 lb woman out there and watch her get hit by a 250 lb linebacker running 20 MPH......if she gets up she can be a ref.

Now that was the most sexist post yet. 'Men are bigger, stronger, faster..'

Why cant you admit your wrong? I gave facts from the CDC that puts the average man at 5'9. The average weight was 166lbs, but sored to 180lbs but the height never changed. So basically, american men got fatter. Thats all. 160 is not small for a man. A man weighing that would actually be fit, not fat. Believe it or not, not all of the people in the world as as 'large' as some americans.

My hubby is a 6'0 165 lb Marine. You wanna call him 'small' based on his weight...

[ruksak]

I'm not sure why averages keep getting brought up. If you were to fill a room with 50 women ages 20-40 and challenge me to physically fight each one of them, one at a time, I'm sure I would take most of them. Yea that's right, I'm a tough guy that can beat up most women.

BUT,,,,,I can assure you that at least some of them would knock me on my ear, twist my arm and make me denounce my manhood.

For women to be qualified to be NFL referees, we do not need to prove that women are in-step with men in terms of average upper body strength. We only need to show that some of them can hang with the boys, and I darn sure assure you that there are many.

That lady would stiff-arm Gary Brackett right outta his socks, I betcha

[Rich Cannon]

Please elaborate why.

Also, there are women refs at the college level.

Just as Remedy said I dont think you just just throw a ref in (male or female) into the NFL without any prior experience. Imo im just not a fan of Female refing in the NFL not saying a female couldnt do the job and do it well. Just think there is a level of physicallity that comes with being a ref and possibly getting knocked down by someone at high speeds etc. thats something I wouldnt want to see a female necessarily go through.

[DILLIGAFER]

I'm not sure why averages keep getting brought up. If you were to fill a room with 50 women ages 20-40 and challenge me to physically fight each one of them, one at a time, I'm sure I would take most of them. Yea that's right, I'm a tough guy that can beat up most women.

BUT,,,,,I can assure you that at least some of them would knock me on my ear, twist my arm and make me denounce my manhood.

For women to be qualified to be NFL referees, we do not need to prove that women are in-step with men in terms of average upper body strength. We only need to show that some of them can hang with the boys, and I darn sure assure you that there are many.

That lady would stiff-arm Gary Brackett right outta his socks, I betcha

My bazookas arent that 'big' but my cannons are a force to be reckoned with.. WOW!

9 times outta 10, people wouldnt even realize a woman was refereeing. The gal i posted earlier was refing nfl players, just at camps.

I guess my reasoning is trying to change the portrail of women being weak, uneducated, girlies.

Keep in mind I dont live in a city as many of you do. I grew up with and know many strong, big built hillbilly women that never miss a step. They arent treated like 'women' they are treated as equals and are expected to do the work accordingly. Just like a man would. Ie: bucking 100lbs bales of hay, riding colts, moving water, calving, fixing fence, ect.

I gotta laugh at that chick in the photo.. i get some pretty weird looks at the university gym when im surrounded by men in the weight room.. and lift what they do.

I just want to shed some light into the sport of male domination that a woman can play key roles in the sport other than on the sidelines in a skimpy outfit shaking tail and pom poms.

[Gavin]

Personally I see absolutely no problem with a woman being a ref IF that woman wants to be a ref (for example) because she wants to be a ref for herself and not just for women everywhere, I think a woman should be able to have a choice to be darn near whatever she wants (I do have 1-2 that I cant just accept but it doesnt have to with physical toughness)

[DILLIGAFER]

Gavin,

Im gonna take a stab at um' 1) wrestling.. eww 2) idk that one.

I dont agree with women wrestling men on the mat. Too much room for possible groping. Yuck.

I didnt like wrestling men in LE on the mats, but had to for a challenge. None of the women could get me down, so i had to wrestle the men. It was all out too. Got some body slams, but never got pinned. It was a little awkward.

I think i remember reading about a female kicker that played soccer originally that kicked for a college was harassed by fellow players. Make no mistake, it will take a special kinda gal to break the mold. One that wont take any guff, stand strong, and let folks know she is a professional.