49ers Assistant Katie Sowers Becomes First Openly LGBT Coach In NFL

The NFL has its latest trailblazer.

San Francisco 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who recently signed with the team to oversee receivers during the 2017 season, is set to become the league’s second full-time female coach. Furthermore, she’ll be the first openly LGBT coach in male pro sports in the United States, Outsports co-founder Jim Buzinski reported Tuesday.

Sowers, who’s openly lesbian, is publicly talking about her sexual orientation for the first time.

“No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are,” Sowers, 31, told Buzinski. “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.

“The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day.”

Of course, Sowers didn’t get this job without prior experience in football. The Hesston, Kan., native played professionally in the Women’s Football Alliance, and she was a key member of the U.S. team that claimed the women’s world title and gold medal in 2013, according to Outsports. She even served as general manager for a WFA team.

Sowers also has experience with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. She was a scouting intern for the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, when she first met Shanahan, who was the team’s offensive coordinator at the time. After being hired by San Francisco, Shanahan brought in Sowers as an intern — a position she excelled at so much that she was hired as a full-time assistant for the upcoming season.

But Sowers is aiming even higher, as she told Buzinski that she eventually wants to be a head coach either in college football or the NFL.

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@mattbarrows