On Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off in Super Bowl LIX in Miami, Fla. The 49ers have broken many records throughout the NFL season, but the most historic and arguably one of the most important moments of the year will surround assistant offensive coach, Katie Sowers.
When the 49ers take the field on Super Bowl Sunday, Sowers will go down in history as the first female coach in a Super Bowl as well as the first openly gay coach in the league. Sowers has broken barriers that have often been viewed as unattainable and objectionable: women coaching in high-ranking positions and those in the league who are open about their sexuality. However, that has not stopped her from pursuing her dreams and reaching her goals.
Prior to pursuing a career in coaching, Sowers played football in the Women’s Football Alliance for the Michigan Mayhem and the Kansas City Titans. While playing for the Kansas City Titans, the team won the 2013 IFAF Women’s World Championship and she continued to play football until a hip injury forced her into early retirement, when she began her coaching career.
Sowers began her coaching journey as an intern for the Atlanta Falcons in the summer of 2016 and then joined the San Francisco franchise as an intern in 2017. The 49ers hired Sowers as the team’s assistant offensive coach prior to the 2019 season which made her the second female coach in NFL history and the first openly homosexual coach in league history.
Sowers is well aware of the platform that she’s been given to not only give girls and women the hopes to follow their dreams, regardless of their gender, but she also is an advocate for the LGBTQ community. When she first came out as a lesbian prior to the 2017 football season, she was quoted as saying, “No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are. 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.”
If your daughter has a dream of being a football coach in the NFL… or a ballerina… or a professional soccer player.. or a teacher.. or a nurse.. or a doctor.. or an astronaut.. or even PRESIDENT.. just let her know this… She. Can. Do. It. And she will change the world.
— Katie Sowers (@KatieSowers) January 14, 2020
Sowers is also quoted in a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 advertisement stating, “I’m not just here to be the token female, I’m here to help us win. I would want to tell this little girl to keep pushing yourself; your dream is coming.”
The little girl who followed her heart from a young age and continued to push boundaries into adulthood has become a role model for so many people worldwide. Little girls will follow their dreams regardless of their gender and make up their own roles in life, and those who don’t identify as heterosexual might be less fearful to share part of themselves with others.
https://youtu.be/1hU39FPGalQ
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers to win the NFC Championship and to advance to Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Now, Sowers is ready for this next step in her journey and in her place in NFL history.
Unreal night. Takin our talents to South Beach … Niners vs Chiefs … I couldn’t ask for a better game #MiamiBound #kcishome #DreamBig pic.twitter.com/quAb3FgAow
— Katie Sowers (@KatieSowers) January 20, 2020
