Who knew that kickers could be so brutal?
Just as Manti Te'o's story of sexuality and betrayal threatened to dominate the NFL Combine last week, the NFL's regional Combine produced it's own story about women who didn't quite appear what they seemed.
Lauren Silberman arrived at the New York Jets' facility to show what she could do in the New York/New Jersey regional combine. Silberman, 28, set out to become the first woman in the NFL. The former soccer player's audition lasted only two kicks before she stopped citing a leg injury that she claims to have suffered last week.
"From the 35, Silberman's first kick made it just past the midfield to the 49. The second where she appeard to get injured, didn't make midfield," tweeted Conor Orr, beat writer for the Star-Ledger.
Few expected the former soccer player to make the team, but no one predicted the reaction that ranged from anger to disbelieve from her peers. According to USA Today, kickers who were also there said that not only were her kicks bad, but that she seemed clueless on how to place the ball as well as to approach it on the kick. One kicker who wasn't there saw Silberman's footage and thought she set the push for a woman in the NFL back.
Katie Hinida was the first woman to score a point in a Division I college game made clear that it didn't take the opportunity seriously and blamed her poor showing on other factors.
"Her performance does not have to do with her gender. It has to do with her experience and her preparation," Hinda told USA Today."Unfortunately, what's going to happen now is she's going to be looked at (as inferior) because she was female.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
