Earlier this week, after a video of U.S. National Soccer team star Carli Lloyd kicking a 55-yard field goal went viral, her trainer James Galanis told FOX Sports that one NFL team had expressed interest in hiring her. Galanis told Fox reporter Martin Rogers, “Today, she got another call from another NFL team. The one that called today, I don’t want to say who it is, was willing to put her on the roster for their next (game). They were willing to put her on the roster … She was told (she could) play on Thursday, the NFL game, but she is playing Thursday with the national team, so that was the conflict.”
Galanis continued, “Knowing Carli, I don’t think she would just hop on and do it. She would need a couple of weeks training just to get comfortable and acclimatized. But things have escalated and it is real. I think Carli is perfectly made out for a job like that. She loves the pressure. She’s got one of the hardest kicks in the world when it comes to women. She is great at long range balls, she displayed that by scoring a goal from just past the halfway line in a World cup final, and she is definitely in tune with the mechanics. She would be an ideal candidate … We are thinking about what it would do to the sport itself, every sport at every level. She would be the first female that’s really playing with males, and what would it do to the whole equality (issue).”
Now Lloyd is saying she is considering the idea. She spoke with Jeff Skversky of ABC6 Philadelphia on Wednesday, and he asked, “This has been coming up a lot. How much do you continue to think about pursuing an NFL job?”
Lloyd answered:
Yeah, it’s been something that’s turned into a casual day out at the Eagles practice just hitting some field goals. I’m competitive by nature, started at 25 yards and just kept moving back. That nailed my 55-yard in one try. The next thing I know, I’ve gotten in the car and it’s gone completely viral and it’s gone completely crazy in these last couple weeks. It’s good news. I think it’s started the conversation. At first I was kind of laughing about it, but after speaking with my husband and close family and friends at home, I think that anything’s possible and I think I’d be foolish to maybe not entertain the idea of potentially doing it.
I know that there’s some challenges and there’s some big men on the line; I get that; I’m not naïve to that, but I’m not trying to be a quarterback or a running back. It’s kicking field goals. I think with the right technique, the right practice, getting that two-step down, I think I can do it and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me saying that I can do it.
She also told Skversky, “It’s honestly gotten me thinking a little bit, you now, I think, from a kicking perspective, that’s what I do for a living. I don’t see why not. Women can kick, I think with the right technique and the right practice … I think that it’s possible. I’m kind of considering, considering the offers and we’ll see what happens.”
Lloyd may say, “I’m not trying to be a quarterback or a running back,” but kickers in football sometimes have to do more than kick — sometimes they have to make a tackle, and sometimes even when they’re kicking things get pretty rough. Here are a few pieces of evidence she might want to consider before getting out on the field in the NFL:
H/T Daily Caller