Maia Chaka just capped off Black History Month and started off Women’s History Month the right way. By making history.
This morning on “The Today Show”, the NFL announced that they hired Chaka as a game official for the 2021 season. This means she is now the first Black woman on the league’s on-field officiating staff.
“It didn’t really hit me until just now when I saw the introduction,” Chaka told TODAY. “I’m like, this is really real. This is something that we’re always taught to work hard for and sometimes we just don’t take time to stop and smell our own roses. And I’ve just been grinding for so long in this. It’s an honor to be able to join the National Football League.”
Chaka began her career officiating high school games in 2006. She moved on to the college level with Conference USA before joining crews from the Pac-12 and the XFL.
“I am honored to be selected as an NFL official,” said Chaka in a statement. “But this moment is bigger than a personal accomplishment. It is an accomplishment for all women, my community, and my culture.”
Chaka joins Sarah Thomas as the only female NFL game officials. But these two made history together before. In 2014, they officiated a Bowl game between Washington and BYU, making them the first women to officiate a FBS Bowl game.
“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, the NFL’s EVP of football operations. “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.”
Maia Chaka joined the NFL’s officiating development program in 2014. The program consists of officials from different levels who have the potential for advancement.
Chaka is a health and physical education teacher at Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She also works with at-risk youth, was named a teacher of the year a few years ago, and is proud to be an inspiration for others.
“I just want them to know that if you have a passion for something and if you have a drive for something, don’t let it hold you back just because you think something may give you some kind of limitation,” said Chaka. “Continue to work hard and always, always, always just follow your dreams.”
Now her dreams just opened the doors for other Black and Brown women to follow through.
