Women's tackle football gives female athletes opportunities in a game dominated by men
Associated Press
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Football players were running, throwing, catching, blocking and tackling — with a steady stream of trash talk between whistles — as the sun set on a recent night in the Motor City.
Other banged-up athletes stood or sat on benches behind each sideline, ailing from a torn calf and a torn knee ligament, unable to play in a game watched by about 100 fans cheering for the home team and 11 people backing the visiting squad from Canada.
While the action and the setting was not unusual, the gender of the players did stand out.
'We do it all just like the boys,' Detroit Prowl punter Kelly Bernadyn said. 'But we're women.'
Women have been playing tackle football for decades, mostly under the radar, but two league commissioners believe it will be part of the next wave as interest in women's sports grows.
When Detroit beat the MIFA All-Stars of Ontario in an American Women's Football League game at Allen Park High School, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers experienced the joy of big plays and camaraderie along with the pain of inevitable injuries.
After a postgame handshake line along the 50-yard line, the black-clad Prowl and the visitors in pink gathered on the visitors' sideline to celebrate their sisterhood and shared goal of growing the sport.
'You just begin to love these girls around you," said MIFA All-Stars quarterback Rachel Vesz, who is from Toronto and played rugby at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. 'And, you all support each other.' Walking wounded
Despite the inherent risk of injuries in football, women are choosing to join pay-for-play leagues for the love of the game and to inspire young girls to play a game traditionally limited to men.
'I use my own health insurance when I am injured, same with all of my other teammates,' said Bernadyn, who works as an EMT and fitness instructor. 'But at the end of the day, it's worth every dollar I've paid.
'It's worth every ice pack I've needed to use, every day of rest, every cast, every boot, because I know that I'll be able to line up on that football field again.' Playing for championships
The Prowl lost their bid for a second straight AWFL title with a first-round loss in the 14-team playoffs that wrap up with the league's second championship game July 12 at West Charlotte High School in North Carolina, streaming on BAWLLR TV. The AWFL has 18 teams from eight states and Canada.
Two leagues, meanwhile, have raised their profile enough to have women competing for championships on ESPN2 in high-end venues.
The Women's National Football Conference will have its title game on the network for the first time on Saturday. The Washington Prodigy will face the Texas Elite Spartans in Frisco, Texas, at the Dallas Cowboys' Ford Center, which has about 12,000 seats.
'When someone sees the WNFC for the first time, it opens up the possibilities,' said Odessa Jenkins, founder of the WNFC. "It's like, 'What a minute. Women play tackle football?' There's no greater joy than to open up new possibilities for yourself and others.'
The WNFC does not pay salaries, but does plan to give a total of $20,000 to the players on the championship team and did budget to pay weekly and season award winners thanks in part to financial support from Adidas, Dove and Riddell. The Women's Football Alliance does not pay players either, but some of their costs are covered by sponsors such as Wilson, ticket sales and licensing rights.
The WFA will be back on the network for its championship game on July 26 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, where MVP jerseys from previous title games are on display.
'This new contract with ESPN is a testament to the high level of football played on the field contributing to the growing popularity of our league on a national and international level,' WFA Commissioner Lisa King said. Two better than one?
Former WFA players include Katie Sowers, who became the first woman to coach in the Super Bowl as an offensive assistant in San Francisco, and Jennifer King, who was the first Black female full-time coach in the NFL in 2021 when she was Washington's assistant running backs coach.
Jennifer King, who is on the WNFC advisory board, hopes the sport's top two leagues find a way forward together.
'When you have two champions, you want to know who's the best,' she said. 'It would be great to have one Super League, but it would be really hard to do because both of the leagues are far down the road.'
Sowers agrees.
'A big issues is, everyone has an idea of who can do it best,' she said. 'We need to come together and create one powerhouse league that has more resources.' Flag on the field
The NFL is investing a lot in flag football, which will be an Olympic sport in 2028. The league did give women's tackle football a platform at halftime of the Pro Bowl in 2020, when 22 players from the Utah Girls Football League were featured in a scrimmage.
Former NFL offensive tackle Roman Oben, the league's vice president of football development, applauded the commitment women are making to play tackle football.
"It's been really commendable to see the growth of the sport,' Oben said. 'There isn't a formal partnership with the NFL, but there have been discussions with a few of the leagues. We're aware these women are paying to play for pads, insurance, equipment and travel and they should be applauded.'
Flag football, Jenkins said, will ultimately have the same effect on women's tackle football as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have had on the WNBA and the sport will benefit from the increased interest in girls and women playing basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball and more.
"Flag football is putting the ball in the hands of more girls and women than ever and it's going to create the greatest pipeline in the history of the sport,' Jenkins said. 'Women have been playing tackle football for 60 years, but now we have brands everyone knows stepping up to alleviate some of the financial pressure on our players and that's what it is going to take to move it past a club level.'
___
Follow Larry Lage on X
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
recommended
in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Curacao draws 1-1 with Canada after Antonisse's stoppage-time goal
Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Jeremy Antonisse scored in stoppage time and Curacao tied Canada 1-1 on Saturday night to remain in contention to advance to the knockout stage of the Gold Cup. Nathan Saliba opened the score in the ninth minute, and Antonisse leveled things in the 94th. The 21-year-old Saliba, playing in his fifth international match, scored for the second game in a row. Canada, which started the tournament with a 6-0 win over Honduras, has four points and leads Group B. Curacao is second with two points. l Salvador, with one point, faced Honduras in a late match Saturday. The Canadians will close the group stage facing El Salvador on Tuesday, also in Houston. A win against the Salvadorians would secure first place in the Group B for the Reds and a match in the quarterfinals against the second-best squad from Group A, currently Costa Rica. Canada is trying to capture its second Gol Cup title despite missing his star winger Alphonso Davies, who tore his right ACL during the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game against the U.S. on March 23. Curacao could progress to the next round with a win over Honduras on Tuesday. Canada pulled ahead after Saliba scored with a shot inside the box low across to the far post. The Caribbean team dominated the second half and appear to level things with a Jurgen Locadia goal in the 68th minute but after a VAR review it was invalidated for offside. Antonisse scored the equalizer on a breakaway play. ___ AP soccer:
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Myles Creighton has a 59 for another sub-60 round at the Wichita Open
Associated Press WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Myles Creighton of Canada chipped in for birdie on the 18th hole Saturday to become the 15th player with a 59 or lower on the Korn Ferry Tour, the second score of 59 in three days at the Wichita Open. Adrien Dumont de Chassart had a 59 in the opening round at Crestview Country Club. Creighton had 12 birdies and one bogey, on the par-3 eighth hole on a day when the wind gusted to 38 mph. Crestview is 6,910 yards and plays to a par 70, with both par 5s just over 500 yards and two of the par 4s measuring at under 350 yards. It was the second time in two years at a Korn Ferry Tour event that two players had sub-60 rounds in the same week. Cristobal Del Solar of Chile set the Korn Ferry Tour record with a 57 in the opening round of the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia. The next day, Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa shot 59. Neither went on to win the tournament. There have 18 sub-60 rounds on tours around the world since 2023, including a 59 on the PGA Tour this year by Jake Knapp at the Cognizant Classic. Creighton shared the lead with Quade Cummins (67) at 15-under 195. Dumont de Chassart was tied for 17th at 8 under, following his 59 with rounds of 70 and 73. ___ AP golf: recommended
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Acuña reaches base 4 times and Braves beat Marlins 7-0
Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. had two hits, walked twice and drove in a run as the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 7-0 on Saturday. Drake Baldwin homered while Marcell Ozuna hit an RBI double and singled for the Braves, who have won seven of nine after falling to a season-low 10 games under .500 on June 10. Braves starter Grant Holmes (4-6) overcame control problems and pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up five hits while walking five and striking out five. Enyel De Los Santos, Dylan Lee and Rafael Montero completed the shutout. Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, has reached safely in 25 of 26 games since being reinstated from the injured list on May 23. Atlanta struck quickly against Miami starter Eury Perez (0-2) with Ozuna's run-scoring double in the first. Acuña drew a leadoff walk then raced home from first when Ozuna hit a line drive to the right-field corner. Acuña's RBI double and Austin Riley's run-scoring single in the fifth made it 3-0. Baldwin broke it open with a three-run drive off Marlins reliever Josh Simpson in the ninth. Pérez gave up three runs and four hits while striking out six in 4 2/3 innings in the right-hander's third start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024. Before the game, the Braves placed reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list because of a fractured left rib cage. Key moment After Holmes walked three to load the bases with two outs in the fifth, he struck out Agustin Ramirez to end the threat. Key stat Acuña has reached safely multiple times in 11 straight games. Up next RHP Bryce Elder (2-3, 4.45 ERA) will start the series finale for the Braves on Sunday against Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (3-8, 6.88). ___ More AP baseball: recommended
