Equality comes haltingly, with a whistle

Sarah Plain And Striped

In one of those small moments that will seem like a much larger one to far too many people, the NFL has hired its first full-time female ref, the at right Sarah Thomas.

Thomas has been around the top end of the college football scene for five years now, and has done the single best thing a ref can do - not get in the way of the damned game. Congrats to her, and to the NFL for breaking this news on the Friday before Easter, where it will hopefully sink under the waves with a minimum of troll aided comments from the Great Unhinged.

Oh, and to the people who are bound to react to this with horror and whatever... you do know the NBA has had female refs for, like, years, and hasn't had the game changed in any material way at all, right?

Your turn, MLB...