TRENDING

Katie Sowers became the first coach in the NFL to be openly (and proudly) part of the LGBT community when she joined the San Francisco 49ers as the team's offensive assistant coach in 2017.

That is why her trip to the Super Bowl on Sunday as the first female *and* openly LGBT coach in the game's history is even more thrilling.

Related: Your must-try Superbowl Sunday snacks

Katie is defying the expectations for women in sports. And while she'll be on the sidelines come game day, she's very much at the center of the conversation when it comes to inclusion.

“We're going to start seeing women playing football and we're going to start seeing more and more women coaching football," Katie told NBC in the video above. "We're going to look back on this time and think how weird it was that we thought it was so weird to see women in this game."

A true leader, Katie is always setting new goals for herself. "I would love to see myself as a head coach someday," she continued. "I know some people might think it's crazy but if we look back on the way we've built society, we have so many gender norms. Back in the day if you would've said that women are going to play basketball with the same rules that men do, they would have thought that was crazy."

"When I first came out as LGBT, I didn't see it as a story...and when it came out that I was the first openly gay coach, it had a huge impact on me. I had a male coach come up to me who was a former assistant coach for an NFL team, and he opened up about being gay. He said that seeing me come out was huge progress. Being able to be myself helps the language that we use and makes us better overall—more inclusive."

Katie knows that having this platform means that countless young people around the world will be watching her and may see themselves represented. In an ad for the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 laptop, Katie shows off a v passionate page from her childhood journal:

“I hope someday I will be a good football player,” Katie reads from her journal. “I am good at football. When we play football at home, I can make a touchdown in one catch. I am the leader of our football club.”

Talk about a dream come true! 

If you want more Katie, check out her Microsoft ad ASAP:

Why do you think it is important to see #GirlPower and LGBT representation in sports? Share your thoughts on Katie's success in the comments!

by Logan Potter | 1/27/2020