Maia Chaka made history after becoming the first woman ever of African descent to officiate a National Football League (NFL) game between the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chaka is now the third on-field female official in the NFL, joining Sarah Thomas, the first permanent female game official, and Shannon Eastin, who was the first woman to officiate an NFL game. Chaka, a health and physical education teacher, spent 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.
She entered the NFL's Officiating Development Program in 2014, a program designed to offer top officiating prospects in the collegiate ranks. “This historic moment to me is an honor and it’s a privilege that I’ve been chosen to represent women and women of color in the most popular sport in America,” Chaka said in a video posted by the NFL. Chaka was born at her family’s home in Rochester, where her mother still lives. She played football as a youth and basketball at Edison Tech High School before attending Finger Lakes Community College.
She then eyed a career in officiating when she was hired as a ref for Pac-12 and Conference USA football games. “That’s when I knew it was possible and attainable that I could become an NFL official,” Chaka said. Women have increasingly been part of professional football. Thomas became the first woman to referee a Super Bowl in February. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell implemented a “Rooney Rule” requiring that women be interviewed for executive positions with teams around the league. And San Francisco 49ers assistant Katie Sowers became the first female coach in a Super Bowl in 2020.