Maia Chaka is the first Black woman in NFL history to be named an official referee by the league.
According to the TODAY Show, the Virginia Beach-based physical education and health teacher has trained with the NFL since 2014. Chaka is also the second woman in NFL history to hold the position. She was elated to hear her hard work had paid off.
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“Just because I’ve been at it for so long, and I just never thought the day would come,” Chaka expressed.
Chaka received the phone call notifying her about the exciting news on March 1.
“It didn’t really hit me until just now,” she said in an interview with the morning show. “When I saw the introduction, I’m like, ‘This is really real,’ because this is just something that we’re just always taught to work hard for. Sometimes we just don’t take time to stop and smell our own roses.”
The newly-minted ref called her new gig “an honor.”
She explained the key to being a great referee was patience, listening and being confident to make the call.
“You’re going to make mistakes, and it’s not necessarily how many mistakes you make, but it’s how you recover,” Chaka said.
The die-hard football fan also refereed college football games and worked on the sidelines at XFL games.
“If you have a passion for something or you have the drive for something, don’t let it hold you back just because you think that something may give you some type of limitation,” she says. “Work hard, and always, always, always follow your dreams.”
