Maia Chaka has made her community proud as she became the first female to manage an NFL game. Chaka is the third on-field female official in the NFL as she has joined Sarah Thomas who was the first permanent female game official, and Shannon Eastin, who was the first woman to be in charge of an NFL game.
Chaka is a health and physical education teacher. She has devoted her time as a referee in the NCAA’s Pac-12 Conference and Conference USA, as well as in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. Earlier, in 2014, she joined the Officiating Development Program of NFL.
In a video message shared by NFL, she said: “When I step on the field for the first time as an NFL official it’s going to be a proud moment. It is a proud moment for myself, for my family, and my community. This historic moment to me is an honor and it’s a privilege to be chosen to represent women and women of color in the most popular sport in America.”
Furthermore, she is striving to encourage other women and empower them to do something out of the box. Chaka is the second woman employed as a full-time NFL official. The first was Sarah Thomas, who refereed the Super Bowl this year.