Female NFL hopeful kicker injured in tryout

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. Lauren Silberman lined up for a kick at NFL history, took a deep breath and booted the football.

It barely went anywhere, traveling 19 yards, and she grabbed at her right leg.

Still, it was good enough to make her the first woman to try out at a regional combine, even if her day lasted all of two kicks.

With the 36 other kickers -- all male -- a handful of scouts and more than two dozen media watching in complete silence at the New York Jets' practice facility, Silberman struggled for about 20 seconds to place the football on the tee before measuring her steps and then trying that second kick.

This one went only about 13 yards.

She then asked to see a trainer and left the practice field after injuring her quadriceps, and appeared to be slightly favoring her right leg.

"They certainly didn't go as far as they were in practices," Silberman said, "but I tried to work through the pain."

• Female kicker to make history at NFL tryout
• Danica Patrick makes NASCAR history

The 28-year-old Silberman said she hurt her quadriceps while preparing for the tryout earlier in the week, and attributed her struggles to that.

"I tried staying off it and waited for today," she said. "I didn't even take kicks in warm-ups, and, it's pretty hard to know that you'll be in pain, and I wanted to work through it and I certainly tried to, but I just couldn't do it today."

Silberman, a former club soccer player at Wisconsin and ex-graduate student at MIT, appeared frustrated she couldn't complete her tryout.

"I've always been an athlete, and I've always been a gamer," she said while fighting back tears. "When I had the opportunity to be in the NFL, one of the world's most competitive leagues, I absolutely had to take the chance."

While some fans on Twitter have praised her for breaking through in a male-dominated sport, others wondered if this was just a mere publicity stunt. Regardless, the NFL got plenty of publicity on a Sunday in March for one of its regional combines -- something that normally is ignored by most media.

"I'm just really happy I had this amazing experience," Silberman said. "I might be the first woman trying out for the NFL, but I certainly hope I'm not the last."

While she never kicked a football in a competitive game, the NFL said Silberman qualified for the regional combine because of her athletic background.

"Our job is to evaluate talent and not leave any stone unturned," said Stephen Austin, the NFL's director of regional combines. "We want young, athletic people who have played a sport, typically in college or military or small schools."

The regional combines debuted in 2011, and include players who weren't among the 333 invited to the main combine in Indianapolis. The NFL is holding these sessions in 10 cities this offseason, with the most impressive players advancing to a super-regional in April in Dallas.

Silberman paid a registration fee -- about $275 -- and just needed to show up Sunday and take her best shot at impressing scouts.

"Until they get here, we don't have any idea of what they're really going to turn out to do and how they're going to perform," Austin said.

• no previous page
• next

1/2

[1history]

More women should try out for the NFL. Every last one will prove quite clearly that they can't compete.

[kbbpll]

Havard Rugland is a better story.

[micmac666]

Yes, Rugland is awesome.

[cranialdisturbance]

Don't worry, they are much better at combat.

[6543mike]

LMFAO

[Harry1899]

This was all about making money from the publicity of "being the first woman ever to try out for the NFL". Now come the book and movie deals; and the world tour.

[p94932-2009]

what a joke, first time she gets gang tackled and someone grabs her bootie that'll be the end of it~! what a joke! except maybe the shower room! he he he

[Rounderboy]

If a team needs an onside kick specialist, she's your man.

[crabnebula]

While women have made great strides in many fields, the NFL is for men alone. No woman or girl should ever play football in the NFL pure and simple. They don't have the bodies that can take the kind of punishment doled out by these 350 pound muscular bruisers. No kicker or quarterback or running back in the NFL will ever be a woman. End of story.

[nohater]

it does seem like it was just a publicity stunt on her part. there are probably more deserving females that currently play in women's football leagues that would have done better than this one.

[TuGreg58]

I think it's a shame that this is the first example of a woman trying out for an NFL team. There must be millions of more talented girls out there, and whether they're interested in football or not, I think it's a slap in the face to those girls that a girl whose athletic performance would be considered sub-par at the middle school level was the first to go on TV and represent women playing football. If she had just not lied, this would have been fine, perhaps she'd of been an inspiration to other woman to try to do better than she did. But she went out there, didn't take any practice kicks (because she knew if she did, they wouldn't have even let her try out), and then she kicked 2 times and then half-assed'ly walked off the field faking an injury. When reporters asked what had happend, she told them she injured her quad and coudln't perform to her best ability. She is completely unable to look up from the ground while she tells them her lie, which is textbook bad-pokerface behavior. Anyone who watches this video can tell she is not in any pain running up to make the kick, nor while she kicks the ball. She doesn't begin to show signs of keeping weight off her leg until after she kicks the ball. Similar to someone faking a broken leg: she's runs normally, with evenly distributed weight on both legs until after she has failed to kick the ball an acceptbale distance, as if: had she performed well, she gave herself the option of either limping off for sympathy or proudly struting off the field. I appologize if anyone interprets what I am saying as sexist,(or especially that I am trying to say girls can/should not play football, NO I think everyone deserves a shot!) because actually I feel quite the contrary; the only thing that would make me feel better about this dispicable publicity stunt is another girl going out there and making amends of the situation. It's infuriating when people see an oppurtuinty to be on TV and use it to their advantage dispite any negative repercussions their actions might have. I truly hope a female soccer or rugby player will go to the next combine and show everyone that a girl can kick a ball more than 13 yards and prove this lady just wanted attention