Are We Getting Closer To Female Players In The NFL ?

michael89156 · 2014-01-25T07:49:56Z

Indoor football team signs first female running back Louis Ojeda Jr. FOX Sports Southwest JAN 24, 2014 8:58p ET Courtesy, Texas Revolution Women playing football is nothing new, but this is a first. The Texas Revolution of the Indoor Football League announced at a news conference on Friday that they have signed 5-foot-2, 130-pound Jennifer Welter, who will try out next month at running back. There are female football leagues, referees, and kickers at the high school and college level, but Welter is the first in a men's professional league to play at a skill position. Welter is no amateur either. She has played linebacker for the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Football Alliance since 2004, and is a veteran rugby player. In 13 years in Women's Pro Football, she's an eight-time Pro-Bowler. But she was presented with a new challenge when the Revolution came calling. "I told them, 'I respect football first and foremost,' " she told the Dallas Morning News. " 'If this doesn't respect the game, if it's just some gimmick, I won't do it.' "I don't know if I surprised them a little with that, because they said, 'You know, you could go through part of training camp.' I said, 'No, no, no. If I'm going to go through training camp, I'm going to go through all aspects of it, just like the boys do.' That's what I believe." Revs general manager and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown truly believes she can compete for the job. "When you look at her resume, when you look at who she is, she's not a joke," Brown told the Morning News. "This is not a lady that does anything for laughing matters or just for stunts. This is something she's taking seriously. If she's going to take it seriously, guess what? We're going to take it just as serious." Welter, who has a PhD. in psychology and a BS in business, has also been mentor and motivator throughout her career. "I don't care if I make the team or whether I'm a superstar on the team," Welter said. "I want people to see that there are girls who love football and know football and are dedicated, hard-working athletes. That goes much beyond this team." Training camp begins Feb. 8 and the Revs kick off the season on Feb. 15.Dawn Marie DiFortuna-Aponte is the Dolphins’ vice president of football administration, the team’s chief contract negotiator, a salary-cap guru, a 42-year-old mother of four and no newcomer to the world of professional sports.She is a 23-year veteran of the NFL, a Bill Parcells disciple, an accountant, an attorney and a lifelong sports nut who has been making tough decisions since playing second base for the softball team at Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls high school in Staten Island, N.Y. She is one of only two female vice presidents in the NFL. The other is Katie Blackburn of the Cincinnati Bengals, daughter of team owner Mike Brown.Read more here:

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Anonymous

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Cabin Boy Guest

If she could rush the passer, I would draft her too.

Posted : Jan. 25, 2014 9:04 pm

Anonymous

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Cabin Boy Guest

I don't care what equipment a person has between their legs when it comes to playing ball, but I do care about a person getting a horrific injury trying to prove a point. Just because a person is tough enough to play tackle football in the backyard with their siblings does not mean their body can withstand the hits in the NFL. If a female meets the size, strength, and speed requirements to play in the NFL and wants to try it out so be it, but I don't know any of those.

Posted : Jan. 25, 2014 11:09 pm

Anonymous

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Cabin Boy Guest

Ice seen some women tougher than most this board. If they can play with the big boys, let em.

Posted : Jan. 25, 2014 11:19 pm

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Are We Getting Closer To Female Players In The NFL ?

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