During her conference call Tuesday, official Shannon Eastin said she’s felt an incredible amount of support from players.
The Chargers have already said they welcomed her, and now the Packers have followed suit.
Eastin will work as the line judge in Thursday’s San Diego-Green Bay game, becoming the first female official in league history.
“What do I think about it? Well, it’s probably about time,” Packers defensive back Charles Woodson told Sirius NFL Radio, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m sure women have probably tried at some point, along the way, leading up to this point. I would assume there’s somebody qualified out there, that we won’t have to jump all over for making bad calls.
“We look forward to it. That’s just the way things are and the way they should be. Hats off to her and whoever decided to make it happen.”
Eastin said the league had been looking for a female official before the lockout of the regular refs, so the effort was obviously in place. The good news is no players or coaches have embarrassed themselves by opposing her presence so far.