{
  "id": 15757765,
  "title": "This Georgia grad is the only female football official in the Athens area",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/this-georgia-grad-is-the-only-female-football-official-in-the-athens",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-20T15:25:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/georgia-grad-only-female-football-152551000.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Caroline Caplinger is the only female football official in the Athens area, serving as a line judge for tackle football games. The 26-year-old, originally from Florida, got her start in officiating during her college years at the University of Central Florida. Caplinger played flag football while in high school and continued playing as a UCF club team member, eventually working her way into the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) system. She continues to officiate tackle games while also coaching the UGA club flag football team. Despite facing sexist comments from fans and feeling nervous putting on the 'zebra' stripes, Caplinger remains dedicated to her role, knowing that she must continuously learn and adapt to the demands of the position.",
  "summary": "Here's how Caroline Caplinger became the only female high school football official in Northeast Georgia, a journey that began with flag football.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}