The year’s biggest sporting event already boasts a significant “first” for Black women.
At Super Bowl LVII, Coach Autumn Lockwood will become the first Black woman to ever coach during a Super Bowl, as she joins the Philadelphia Eagles on the field. As the NFL put it in their Instagram post on Lockwood, “What an achievement.”
After sharing the NFL announcement via her Twitter account, Lockwood took a moment to honor “all women in sports that have led the way and have been the light for me and so many others” in a tweet for National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
Others also took to Twitter to share their excitement, naming her a “trailblazer” and vowing to root for her on the big day. And as one sports analyst noted, “We’re still making history in Black History Month.”
In addition to being the first Black woman to coach during a Super Bowl game, Lockwood is also just the fourth woman to do so overall. The first was Katie Sowers, who went to the big game with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020.
Lockwood works for the Eagles as an assistant sports performance coach, and first joined the organization last August. Prior to that, she held director and coordinator roles at the University of Houston and East Tennessee State University, as well as internships with the Atlanta Falcons and sportswear giant Nike.
Super Bowl LVII will take place on Feb. 12, and the Eagles will go up against the Kansas City Chiefs.
