The Future is Female | 5 min read

Trail Blazers

Assistant Coach of the San Antonio Spurs Becky Hammon  

In recent years’ females have started to become more involved with coaching, refereeing and the day to day operations with men’s professional sports. It is such an exciting time to see females begin to receive the recognition and respect that they deserve. They are trail blazing the way for increased female involvement in professional sports. However, these glass ceiling shattering women like Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs, and Kathryn Smith of the Buffalo Bills have the women that walked in the shadows before them to thank for the opportunity.

Behind every opportunity are the women who worked tirelessly to get that much closer to ending the stigma that women are unqualified to work in mens professional sports. We may not always know their name, so they don’t always get the recognition that they deserve. We thank them all endlessly for creating the mere thought that maybe just maybe women could hold a position within a professional sports league or organization.

However, there are many women whom we do know their name and celebrate. For example, Lisa Boyer was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2001-2002 season, which was shattering and paved the way for the likes of Becky Hammon to be considered as a true applicant for the Spurs position. Behind every female success story is the female warrior that walked before her, and in this case the warrior was Lisa Boyer.

Arizona Cardinals Assistant Coaching Intern Jennifer Welter

For Kathryn Smith of the Buffalo Bills the warriors that walked before her was Arizona Cardinals assistant coaching intern Jennifer Welter. While Welter is believed to be the first coach in NFL history, Sarah Thomas became the first full time female referee in the NFL in 2015. Thomas has Shannon Eastin to thank as in 2012 she was the first female to officiate an NFL game. 

It is an exciting time to see increased female opportunities within such male dominated organizations because its creates hope that someday women may be treated and thought of as equals. The NHL just hired the first ever female pro scout, Cammi Granato, who was asked why she believed it took so long for her to be the first and she simply responded with that women were never considered as a viable option before.  Not only are women viable but have the potential to be better. Leagues should welcome the opportunity to increase their depth of talent pool. After all, the Future is Female.