Apparently half of the population is still not included when it comes to having good judgement in sports. The NFL recently hired its first full time female referee, Sarah Thomas, and it’s about time.

Of course there will be the critics who argue that Thomas, despite qualifying for the job, does not belong on the field because she is a woman.

A woman ref in the NFL…. The downfall of sports is upon us. If she didn’t qualify for the job, why did they hire her? Because she has plenty of experience. Thomas began working as a referee for high school games in 1999, according to NFL.com. She also refereed a Rice-Northwestern game in 2011, the first time a female official has refereed in a college football stadium.

This isn’t the first time a female official has refereed an NFL game. Shannon Eastin became the first woman to officiate an NFL game in 2012, during the referee lockout, according to the Huffington Post.

This shouldn’t be a big deal, and yet, to the public at least, it is.

Despite Thomas being experienced, sexist comments are still inevitable in this day and age.

The two tweets capture the classic “downfall of civilization” and “time of month” jokes that come up whenever a woman is good at
her job.

Women make up half of the human race. To assume that they are naturally incompetent or uninterested in sports is ridiculous.
Assuming that all men are interested in sports simply because of their gender is also ridiculous.

Thomas and eight other referees will be working at the game’s top level for the first time next season, according to NPR.
One ninth of new hires isn’t quite the same as one half, but it’s definitely better than zero.

Kudos to the NFL for taking a step forward and finally giving a female referee a chance.

Thomas was part of the 2013 and 2014 NFL development program, according to ESPN.

Being included is the first step towards acceptance, even if it takes a long time.

For fans sitting at home, the important takeaway is that nothing about the game is going to change and that’s a good thing.

For female fans, there’s a chance to feel included in their favorite sport. For everyone else, unless they’re the twitter trolls, they are probably too busy paying attention to the actual game to care about the gender of the referee.