Sami Jarjour
This week in the NFL, history has been made. The presence of two female coaches and one female official on the staff of a regular-season football game this week was a first for the NFL. During the Cleveland Browns vs Washington Football Team game, these three female football officials created quite a stir, as well as marking the historical event. The female officials, who were Jennifer King, the coaching intern for the Washington Football Team; Callie Brownson, the Cleveland Browns’ chief of staff and Sarah Thomas, an NFL official, posed for a picture together while sporting their safety masks after the game.
Writing in a post on Twitter, the Cleveland Browns said, ‘Making history. Today’s game marks the first regular-season game in @NFL history to have a female coach on both sides and a female official. #WASvCLE.’ In a Retweet, the Washington Football Team replied, ‘We’re more than proud of @JenniferKing5 and all the women breaking barriers in our league!!’
We’re more than proud of @JenniferKing5 and all the women who are breaking barriers in our league?? https://t.co/oW30Z1m05d
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) September 27, 2020
With women’s sports still far behind men’s in popularity in the USA, this is huge progress for the NFL. Just this year there have been calls for there to be a women’s National Football League, with journalists asking, ‘Is the NFL ‘Not For Ladies?’ and ‘Isn’t it about time we had a women’s NFL?’ This week’s progress, while seemingly small, is a huge step for a typically male environment such as the NFL.
This good news comes after the huge setback suffered this week by the Tennessee Titans, who have seen three players and five personnel members test positive for COVID-19. Both the Titans and the Minnesota Vikings, who played the Titans just last Sunday, have now had to suspend operations due to the positive test results. This throws into question the entire future of this year’s NFL season. Most teams are already playing in empty stadiums, while those who are allowing fans to enter, like the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, are only using around 10% of the stadium capacity.
Has Coronavirus Affected Your Favorite Sport?
If you are a sports fan, the chances are your sport has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. All around the world, sports have been affected by the virus, either having sporting events canceled or hit the news due to COVID-19 transmissions. Novak Djokovic’s own tennis tournament, the Adria Tour, caused controversy after Djokovic himself and three other tennis players tested positive for the virus. The Serbian player wrote that he was ‘so sorry the tournament caused harm’ after the positive results were published in the media.
If you love sports and have had your team or sport affected by COVID-19 you are not alone. One great way to keep up with your sports and teams without the physical playing of the sport is to keep up with fantasy sports. You can play along and find out the Winning DFS PGA Tour Picks while keeping in touch with friends, learning more about your favorite teams and getting your sports fix all in one.
