Perhaps the past year of bad press has finally knocked some sense into the NFL because just last week, news broke that the American football institution may have hired its first female official.

According to Refinery29, the NFL will add eight officials for the 2015 season. Sarah Thomas, the female official the league is “planning” on hiring, has officiated college-level games for over 17 years.

Refinery29 reports that the news was initially announced on Twitter by Aaron Wilson at the Baltimore Sun. The information hasn’t been officially confirmed yet (the NFL hasn’t made a statement).

Well, we hope the news is real. It would be pretty great to see the NFL actually take a female seriously. Let us not forget the two stories that plagued the NFL in 2014: Ray Rice was caught on video abusing his then girlfriend, now fiancé. And Adrian Peterson was indicted in Texas for “reckless or negligent injury” toward his son.

While it’s great that a woman may be officiating NFL games, we should note that Thomas is a killer choice either way. She seems incredibly talented – no matter what’s between her legs. Just look at all the accolades she’s received for her work so far:

According to Refinery29, Thomas joined the league’s Officiating Development Program in 2014 – she’s one of two female members in the program.

“When she joined the program, NFL vice president Dean Blandino told Bleacher Report that Thomas was a natural. ‘One of the things we look for in young officials is, are they intimidated on the field? She is not. She has all the characteristics we want in an official,’ he told the sports site.”

What other strides do you think the NFL could take to make the league more accommodating to female officials, and women in general? Does this news make you think of the NFL in a more positive light?

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