A top government lawyer for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith ZinkeTrump extends Florida offshore drilling pause, expands it to Georgia, South Carolina Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention Trump flails as audience dwindles and ratings plummet MORE once said in recently surfaced online comments that female cops have an “inferiority complex” and that the NFL should not allow a “power tripping woman with a case of PMS” to officiate football games.

James Voyles, who serves as senior counsel in the Office of the Secretary at the Interior Department, argued in now deleted Facebook posts from 2011, a year after he graduated from college, that women shouldn’t be allowed to work as referees in NFL games because they would control “the last male sanctuary.” When contacted by The Hill on Thursday, Voyles apologized for the remarks.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I offer my sincere apologies for the statements made on social media several years ago. I have nothing but the upmost respect for the brave women in uniform and am grateful for their service," he said Thursday through an Interior Department spokesperson. "These statements were written seven years ago, were flippant social media posts, and do not reflect who I am or what I stand for. As a husband to a strong wife, a father to a wonderful daughter, and as a dedicated co-worker and friend, I regret these remarks and value and respect the women in my life."

Voyles's comments in 2011 were in response to a post asking people to weigh in on the NFL’s announcement that it was considering allowing women to officiate NFL games.

“Do we really want to let a power tripping woman with a case of PMS from hell controlling the last male sanctuary? i submit that i do not!” Voyles wrote at the time.

The NFL hired Sarah Thomas, its first full-time female official, in April 2015.

The NBA hired its first female referee in 1997, and women began officiating college football games in 2017. A woman has not umpired an MLB game.

Voyles backed up his opposition to female referees in the NFL by making a comparison to women who are police officers.