The L.A. Memorial Coliseum stars in a commercial by the NFL, hinting at its players' inclusion. The USA's flag football team is pushing back, saying they won't be shoved aside by celebrities who have suddenly decided to make a grab for glory.
A number of NFL stars have been making noise about inclusion in the men’s flag football team that will play at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles – but officials are sending their own message back: You’re not a walk-on.
In fact, they note, the USA already has its own men’s flag football team (it has its own women’s team as well), and those squads have been competing at the international level in games sanctioned by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).
And those players, they add, have been promoting flag for years. In fact, the men’s Team USA has won each of the last four IFAF Flag Football World Championships, and will play for its fifth title later this month. The women, meanwhile, have won two.
And the NFL players? Well, that’s just a grab for additional glory and according to those already on the squad, it’s just downright rude and egotistical to assume they’ll allow themselves to be shoved aside.
The flap started when the NFL tweeted, “It’s our turn,” and showed Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles igniting the Olympic torch by throwing a flaming American football into it.
According to USA TODAY, the backlash was swift in coming. Darrell "Housh" Doucette, the quarterback of the U.S. flag football team, was the first to speak.
“I think it’s disrespectful that they just automatically assume that they’re able to just join the Olympic team because of the person that they are – they didn’t help grow this game to get to the Olympics,” Doucette said to The Guardian. “Give the guys who helped this game get to where it’s at their respect.”
Doucette said he and his current teammates have consistently been facing off against teams from around the world. Plus, he added, the NFL players seem to be unaware of the differences between the style of play seen in contact football vs. flag.
“Some of the things that they do in the NFL that they call trick plays? We’re accustomed to seeing them on an everyday basis,” Doucette said.
Doucette’s not blowing hot air. Yahoo! Sports notes that he was also a member of an amateur squad that, in 2018, defeated a team of former NFL players on national television. Doucette led the team to a 20-point win over the NFL squad, which included running back Justin Forsett and former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace, and was coached by Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in track.
Ouch. Maybe Jalen Hurts should just take his flaming football and sit down.
The Guardian’s article also notes that Team USA Flag's success in that 2018 game was largely due to its speed, plus the ability to pull off fakes and laterals in a way that the tackle players weren't used to. As a result, NFL players hoping to join the flag football team might find that the game is difficult to adjust to, especially with a squad of players who have been playing the sport for years.
The NFL says it is “in talks” with officials about getting its players into the LA 2028 Games but Team USA Flag has a message for them.
“It’s not that we need these guys,” Doucette told The Guardian. “Because we’re already great with who we have.”
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