The only out gay coach in Super Bowl history, has ties to the 49ers and Chiefs
The LGBTQ sports trailblazer was on the sidelines the last time the 49ers and Chiefs played in the Super Bowl. It gives her mixed emotions for the game.
By Jim Buzinski for OUTSPORTS –
Katie Sowers will watch Super Bowl LVIII in her Overland Park, Kan., home with players from the college women’s flag football team she coaches, filled with mixed emotions. Sowers coached for the San Francisco 49ers. She also coached for the Kansas City Chiefs. Whom to root for?
“It’s such a strange situation to be in,” Sowers told Outsports. “On one hand, it brings back all the feelings of when [the 49ers lost in the Super Bowl in 2020], but then on the other hand, I know how great it is for[Kansas City] to celebrate a win. I have no idea who I’m rooting for.
“It’s like a win-win, lose-lose,” she added, saying that she would love to see 49ers she coached like wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle get a ring, while at the same time she admired Chiefs coach Andy Reid, so is rooting for him.
Sowers was on the sideline as an offensive assistant coach for the 49ers in February 2020 when the Chiefs came back from a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit to win 31-20. She knows the pain of coming so close and that’s one reason she thinks San Francisco will win on Sunday.
“You know, you can almost taste it and then it slips away. I think they’re not going to let that happen again,” she said. “My gut kind of tells me the Niners are out for revenge.”
Sowers became a notable storyline in that previous Super Bowl as the first woman and first openly gay coach in the game’s history. She was one of the most-sought interviews on media night, an honor seldom given to an assistant coach, but a recognition of her role as a trailblazer.
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https://www.outsports.com/2024/2/6/24061353/super-bowl-lviii-49ers-chiefs-katie-sowers-gay-nfl-coach
photo: San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers, with head coach Kyle Shanahan to her left, prior to the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 2, 2020. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
