Super Bowl LIV: All you need to know about Katie Sowers, the first female and openly gay coach in the game's history
This year's Super Bowl is a historic event for more reasons than one. In fact, for the first time in 54 years, one of the coaches on the field will be a gay woman.
Meet Katie Sowers, the San Francisco 49ers offensive assistant coach who is the first female assistant on an NFL coaching staff to work in a Super Bowl. She is also the NFL’s only openly LGBT coach, making this a double-whammy in terms of historical moments.
“She been tremendous,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo told CBS San Francisco. “Katie was here before I was, but just what she does with the receivers, all the skill positions guys, how she interacts with them. It’s special. She’s feisty, man. Katie is awesome out there. She’ll get after guys … It’s fun to be around.”
Sowers is a former pro ballplayer, according to HuffPost, and was part of the 2013 U.S. Women’s National American Football team that won the International Federation of American Football’s world championship game by defeating Canada 64-0. She was forced to retire in 2016 due to a hip injury but she interned for the Atlanta Falcons where she met Kyle Shanahan, who would go on to hire her when he became the 49ers’ head coach.
“Katie did a real good job for us in Atlanta, she’s done a really good job here,” Shanahan told OutSports.com. “She helps [passing game coach] Mike LaFleur out, just with some rotations, and she helps our quality control [coaches] out just with all the stuff they have to do.”
It hasn't been an easy path for Sowers. In fact, she has been denied opportunities in the past because of her sexual identity. "As I was finishing college, I actually got turned down from a volunteer coaching job because I was a lesbian," Sowers told OutSports in 2017. "I was told 'because of your lifestyle, we ask that you do not come around the team'."
"That moment really impacted me because it was the first time I truly felt judged because of my sexual orientation," she continued. "I was so passionate about coaching and to feel like my opportunities were limited because of who I loved was hard to deal with. However, without that experience, I would not be where I am today."
But even though she had to struggle to reach where she is today, Sowers is busy at work trying to improve inclusivity in the NFL and ensure that no one else has to face the discrimination she has faced in her career. "No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are," Sowers told OutSports. "There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation. The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day."