Unsurprisingly, men’s professional sports have historically been a boy’s club. However, in a sweep of groundbreaking new hiring decisions, 2015 became the year all that began to change. As Elliott Almond outlined in the LA Daily News, Becky Hammon first opened the door in 2014 when she was hired as the first woman assistant coach in the NBA. Then, in the summer of 2015, the Sacramento Kings got female assistant coaches trending by hiring former WNBA coach and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. The NFL followed suit when Sarah Thomas became the first full-time female official and the Arizona Cardinals hired coaching intern Jen Welter for their training camp. Baseball also saw progress with Justine Siegal as a guest instructor for the Oakland A’s, making her the first female coach in MLB history, and Jessica Mendoza broke into the world of men’s sports commentary as an analyst for “Sunday Night Baseball” and then covered the ESPN College World Series from the booth.

Read More