Sowers, Katie (1986-…), is an American football coach. In 2020, Sowers became the first woman to coach in the Super Bowl, with the San Francisco 49ers. Sowers, who is a lesbian, also became the first out member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community to participate in the game as a player or coach. To be out is to have one’s sexual orientation or transgender identity widely known. 
Katherine Marie Sowers was born on Aug. 7, 1986, in Hesston, Kansas, north of Wichita. Growing up, Sowers excelled in sports. She often played pickup football with her twin sister, Liz.
Sowers attended Hesston College, a junior college, from 2004 to 2006. She studied at Goshen College in Indiana—where she played basketball, soccer, and track and field—from 2006 to 2009. When her athletic eligibility ran out in 2009, Sowers applied for a volunteer coaching position with the women’s basketball team. However, she was rejected due to her sexual orientation. Goshen College issued Sowers a formal apology in 2020.
After college, Sowers played football in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA)—a semi-professional full-contact league—along with her twin sister. Katie received a master’s degree in kinesiology (the study of human movement) from Central Missouri University in 2012. In 2016, she sustained an injury that ended her WFA playing career.
Sowers took an internship position with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. In 2017, she was hired by the San Francisco 49ers. Sowers came out publicly in 2017.
Sowers has coached flag football since 2021. In 2023, she became the head coach of the Italian national women’s flag football team.
