Valenti becomes NFL’s first female replay official

IRVING, Texas — Terri Valenti always enjoyed football as a little girl but never dreamed then of being in the NFL. That became her goal only after officiating games for the first time in 1999.

Valenti this season will be the NFL’s first female instant-replay official in the booth, moving into that position two years after Sarah Thomas became the league’s first full-time official on the field.

“I didn’t know what was involved, how long the road would be, how hard it would be, or if I would ever get there,” Valenti said Friday at the NFL’s annual officiating clinic. “To be here at this point is just awesome.”

The clinic, held before each season, was the first since Alberto Riveron’s promotion to be the head of officiating after Dean Blandino left the NFL.

Valenti spent the past five seasons working for instant replay in the NFL, including a Super Bowl. She also worked in the past as an on-field official in the professional United Football League in 2009, as well as high school, college, minor league and international league games.

Her new instant-replay role is different and more prominent. Each of the 17 officiating crews has an instant-replay official who is the go-between for the on-field referee and the NFL’s centralized operations in New York, where final decisions on reviews will be made starting this season.

“The roles I’ve had in the past have been supporting the replay official and getting that information that person needs to do his or her job effectively,” she said. “Now I’m kind of point person for a little team at each field.”

NFL referee Brad Allen said the league is concerned about having diversity and the most qualified people.

“It’s a positive benchmark in society that we’re not sort of in an old-school, old-boys mentality,” Allen said.