Upon assuming the post of vice president of football operations for the Philadelphia Eagles, Catherine Raîche on Thursday became the first woman to hold such a high position in the NFL. An appointment that is part of the race towards greater gender equity in professional sports teams.
Mme Raîche had been the coordinator of football operations and player staff for the United States team for two years. Before she shatters a glass ceiling in the largely male sport, it was Kelly Kleine who had held the most prominent position in the NFL since May as director of football operations and special advisor to the general manager of the Broncos. Denver.
This one also congratulated Thursday Mme Raîche for this “well-deserved” nomination. “I am very happy to see that”, she wrote on Twitter.
In her new role, the 32-year-old Quebecer will be involved in all spheres of football operations, including professional and university scouting, contract management, player and staff development, as well as football research.
Heavy trend
“This nomination, Catherine amply deserves it”, rejoices Danièle Sauvageau, who helped set up the Université de Montréal women’s hockey team and who now heads it. “More and more, professional sports organizations are looking at the other 50% of humanity, on the side of female talent. [pour occuper des postes de direction]. »
“It’s like a groundswell that is launched,” she adds. And I have the impression that this kind of appointment, we will see more and more so that it finally becomes normal and that we almost stop talking about it. “
Several women have also broken glass ceilings in recent months within different sports teams. In November, Kim Ng was named general manager of the Miami Marlins, becoming the most senior woman in the baseball operations of a major baseball organization. No woman before had held this position in the history of the sport.
In January, former softball player Bianca Smith became, at the age of 29, the first black woman to ever coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) after being hired by the Boston Red Sox.
“It sure has an impact [ces nominations]. It encourages young girls and women who are in sports to work to reach senior positions, ”said Sports Quebec’s general manager, Isabelle Ducharme.
A meteoric rise
Prior to joining the Eagles, Ms. Raîche spent five seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Its rise has also been meteoric.
First an unpaid trainee in 2015 with the Montreal Alouettes, she quickly rose to the position of football administration coordinator within the team, then assistant general manager, in 2017. No woman had then. held such a position in the CFL in nearly 30 years.
Mme Raîche then stood out in 2018 with the Toronto Argonauts, before joining the Philadelphia Eagles south of the border the following year. A law graduate from the University of Sherbrooke, the young woman will succeed in her new role to the current general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry.
With The Canadian Press
