Can women play in the NFL? Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd sparks debate
Over the past few years, the NFL has opened the door for women to have premier positions in the league. Twelve women held coaching positions last season. Washington Commanders' Jennifer King became the first African-American female assistant coach after being promoted to an assistant running backs coach. Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Lori Locust became one of the first two female coaches to win the Super Bowl.
We could see a female head coach soon, and we possibly aren't too far from having the first female player either. US soccer legend Carli Lloyd has sparked a debate about whether women can play in the league, after teasing a career as a kicker in a recent interview.
"The NFL...it's a different beast. If there's one position I feel a woman could potentially do, it's kicking field goals. There's some men that have no idea how to kick a field goal..."
Some argue that the locker room dynamics could be an issue if there were a female presence added. Others argue that female coaches are already in the locker room, and there have been zero issues reported so far. Yes, it's another thing to be a player and change with the male players, but it's not as if Carli Lloyd would be forced to dress in front of them. The NFL would be wise to accommodate any female player with appropriate facilities. In retrospect, this would also make other female athletes more comfortable and willing to join a male-dominant league.
There is also zero debate about talent or females competing against males. There are women's football leagues all over the country, and they play the same level of football as men do at the semi-pro level. If Carli Lloyd or any other woman was to join the NFL, the most likely position would be as a kicker or punter. That's not to say we can't see a female quarterback down the road, but the league is bound to take baby steps with this process and use female kickers as a test.
Case for women kickers in the NFL
You can't debate that women don't belong in the NFL if they have zero football experience, like Carli Lloyd. She's only played soccer professionally but has taken a crack at field goals in the past. She hit a 55-yard field goal in 2019 at a Philadelphia Eagles camp session and hit another field goal a few years prior. But kicking a soccer ball is similar to kicking a football, and many NFL kickers, such as Justin Tucker, have a past as soccer players.
Carli explained that she's so precise with a soccer ball that she could adapt to a similar style of kicking a football:
"I have finessed my technical ability to kick a soccer ball..been very precise with that...the breakdown of kicking a field goal is a little different, but kinda similar [to soccer]."
After nailing a 55-yard field goal at Eagles practice last week, US women's soccer star Carli Lloyd says she's considering kicking for an NFL team. abcn.ws/2zpgGcj https://t.co/H6rNKHTngp
As mentioned before, there are already semi-pro leagues that are all female. They are quarterbacks, linebackers, kickers, safeties, and runningbacks. They tackle and wear full pads. This isn't the Lingerie Football League in any sense. Women are proving they can play the sport, and it's only a matter of time before some show talent worthy of the NFL.