{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/tribute-sarah-thomas", "TRIBUTE TO SARAH THOMAS", "2021-02-03", "2021", "2021-02", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 20\n\n(Senate - February 3, 2021) PDF\n\nMr. President, now on a more positive note, I would like to speak on\n\na separate and special matter.\n\nAs Americans and people around the world settle in front of their\n\ntelevisions this Sunday to watch the 55th annual Super Bowl, they will\n\nbe tuning in to a historic event. I am not speaking about the impact of\n\nthe COVID-19 pandemic on the game or Tom Brady's record Super Bowl\n\nappearances. Instead, I am focused on the history that will be made by\n\nan exceptional woman from Mississippi, my good friend Sarah Thomas.\n\nSarah Thomas, a native of Pascagoula, MS, will go down in sports\n\nhistory on Sunday as the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl.\n\nSarah has always had a passion for athletics. She made a name for\n\nherself in high school sports. She became an Academic All-American in\n\nbasketball at the University of Mobile, where she amassed a career\n\nrecord of 779 points, 441 rebounds, 108 assists, and 192 steals--\n\naccomplishments that illustrate her determination to perform at the\n\nhighest levels.\n\nWhile the news of a female officiant for the Super Bowl is a historic\n\nfirst, Sarah is no stranger to making history. Following college,\n\nSarah's attention shifted to football--namely, officiating games. She\n\nquickly earned a reputation as an elite referee while officiating high\n\nschool games.\n\nSarah became the first woman to officiate a Division 1A high school\n\ngame in Mississippi. Sarah continued to do so well in her craft that it\n\ncaught the attention of renowned NFL official Gerry Austin, who invited\n\nher to an officials' camp. Here again, Sarah's talents proved\n\nimpressive, and she soon became the first woman to officiate a college\n\nfootball game and the first woman to officiate a college bowl game.\n\nThe NFL hired Sarah as its first female official in 2015, and in 2019\n\nshe became the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game.\n\nTo me and many others, Sarah's selection to officiate at Super Bowl\n\nLV is just a natural progression for a talented professional. I can\n\nassure you, anyone who knows Sarah as I do will not be surprised by her\n\nsuccessful career.\n\nSarah--a mother, a career woman--has all the qualities I imagine the\n\nNFL wants in a good official: smart, confident, decisive, reliable, and\n\ncommitted.\n\nMy State of Mississippi is extremely proud of Sarah Thomas, and we\n\nlook forward to watching her latest history-making appearance at the\n\nSuper Bowl.\n\nAnd to Sarah's children--these precious children: Bridley, Brady, and\n\nBailey--congratulations to you on this historic achievement, and you\n\ncan be so proud of your mother.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:26:35Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/tribute-sarah-thomas"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5436289831995964, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}