While the players attempt to make history on the field during Super Bowl LIV, someone on the San Francisco 49ers' sideline will have already broken barriers.
Niners offensive assistant coach, Katie Sowers, will be the first woman and first openly gay person to coach in the Super Bowl.
Sowers is just the second woman to receive a coaching position in the NFL. The 33-year-old became a part of the Niners coaching staff last year after starting as an intern in 2017. In the same year her internship began, Sowers came out publicly as gay.
"No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are," she said to Outsports at the time. "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 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LIV with Sunday's win over the Green Bay Packers. The Niners will now head to Miami to square off against Sowers' hometown team, the Kansas City Chiefs, for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
