Upstate New York native Maia Chaka has made history as the NFL’s first Black female referee.
Chaka, born and raised in Rochester, N.Y., made her National Football League officiating debut as a line judge during Sunday’s game between the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina. She’s the third on-field female official in the NFL after Sarah Thomas, who became a full-time NFL official in 2015, and Shannon Eastin, who was the first woman to officiate an NFL game.
“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.
In 2006, she became a health and physical education teacher at Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia, winning teacher of the year honors for her work with special needs students. 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 told the Democrat & Chronicle.
Chaka did some NFL preseason games in 2014 as part of the league’s Officiating Development Program, which identifies college referees with potential to succeed as an NFL official.
“Maia’s years of hard work, dedication and perseverance — including as part of the NFL Officiating Development Program — have earned her a position as an NFL official,” said Troy Vincent, who oversees the league’s football operations, in March. “As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Maia is a trailblazer as the first Black female official and inspires us toward normalizing women on the football field.”
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.
Chaka told the Democrat & Chronicle that she had to work hard to get where she is, attending summer school to complete her high school diploma and working two jobs at the Marketplace Mall to pay for junior college. She received a bachelor’s in education in 2006 at Norfolk State.
“Anything is possible,” Chaka said. “Rochester has so many stories of people who could never get it together. I almost became one of those people. I just knew what I wanted to do. I want young kids to understand that you have to be able to find your purpose in life, and you have to fight to have success, no matter how many obstacles you have to overcome.”