Maia Chaka has made history by becoming the NFL's first Black female official.
As reported on the NFL website, on Friday (March 5), Chaka was included in the NFL roster of game officials for the 2021 season, making her the first Black woman to be added to the football league's officiating staff.
"I am honored to be selected as an NFL official," Chaka said 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 works as a health and physical education teacher in the Virginia Beach public school system. She had also worked as an official at the Pac-12 Conference and Conference USA.
Back in 2014, Chaka was in the NFL's Officiating Development Program, which sought to watch out for promising college officials.
"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," Troy Vincent, Sr., NFL executive vice president of football operations, said.
"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," he added.
"She cares for her immediate family and her extended family," Kay Thomas, the director of alternative education at Renaissance Academy said of Chaka to USA TODAY Sports.
"She cares for her kids here. She cares for her profession. She cares for her refereeing. That's a lot to organize and carry, but she pulls it all off with a tremendous amount of grace," Thomas added.
Virginia Beach City Assistant Principal, Dolores Phipps, told the outlet: "She did it so willingly and hit the ground running. She brought suggestions forward. She's proactive. But more than anything, she's engaged in our children."
"To be honest with you, we wouldn't have known all of this about her," Dr. Aaron Spence, the superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, told USA TODAY. "She's not walking around and talking about it. She's more about doing it. It's just who she is. "
