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Off-duty Oregon cops patrol the gridiron
Jeana Fisher and Steve Anderson have taken oaths both as law enforcement professionals and as members of the Portland Football Officials Association (PFOA) in Oregon. On the job, they protect the public, and on the football field, they protect high school athletes by calling Friday night games.
“I don’t think any official has ever worked a perfect game, and that is what we are all striving to do and that’s what we are hoping for,” Anderson, an officer with the Beaverton Police Department, told KPTV.
“To be part of the competition and help create fair play for everybody — it’s the greatest experience on a Friday night,” he stated on Fox & Friends.
Both officers were selected to officiate the state championship game this fall, a honor for the pair of former football players. It was an additional distinction for Fisher, a Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy, who became the first woman to call a tournament game.
“We’re questioned because of our gender before they even question whether we know anything,” Fisher said when appearing on Fox & Friends. “All the guys that I partner with are very supportive, and my family is very supportive. And I love football. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Fisher won a gold medal as a lineman playing with Team USA in 2010, and said she enjoys the opportunity to stay connected with the game by being out on the field with the players.
“Those guys in the middle, in the trenches, they are my people and I love being in there,” she commented to KPTV.
Both cops agree the calm demeanor required for official police duty benefits them between the hashes, too.
“We just keep the game fair,” Anderson said. “We have a little bit of training to keep people in line so that helps, I’m sure.”
He added that he’s heard people ask “how I remain so composed when coaches or fans are yelling, but the job I do in real life is way more serious. Sometimes we are dealing life or death, and this is a game, this is fun.”
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