Meet The First Female Defensive Back In College Football History
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This is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there should be a blanket restriction by gender on playing college football, and I think the girl here is very admirable. If a real-life Brienne of Tarth existed and had the talent to play, I'd say knock yourself out and I'd probably be a fan. But Shelby Osborne is listed at 5'6, 140 pounds, and from the pictures I'd say that's generous. Someone of those proportions could theoretically play defensive back for a low division team, but they would need to be a lean muscled freak. She isn't that, as confirmed by her high school coach:
She can get through the rigor of the running and conditioning part of it,†said Oldham. “I don’t know how she’ll do physically — like taking hits and stuff. But being a defensive back, it’s kind of like Deion Sanders. You can choose to hit or not hit. She’s got to make business decisions
This guy is a coach? A decision not to hit is a decision not to play. If a wide receiver she's covering catches the ball, she can make a 'business decision' and let him score a touchdown? If a running back breaks into the open field, she can make a 'business decision' to just matador him through? Deion Sanders could only get away with being a lackadaisical tackler because he was the best cover corner in football, perhaps in football history. It's not a general proposition.
Because this is framed as a female empowerment story, the obvious must not be mentioned: that this is a publicity stunt by the college. She only made five appearances in her high school career, which I'd imagine to be in mop up duty. Of which there was plenty because her team was excruciatingly bad. So, anyone arguing that this is on merit is full of shit. And if she is put out there in real situations, she's in real danger. I remember the Jessica Dubroff case almost 20 years ago when a 7 year old girl was attempting to become the youngest person to fly across the US. And it was treated like a nice girl-empowerment story. Until she crashed the plane and died.
Just in case anyone brings up Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, he was 5'6, 185 pounds and was a practice squad player only until his one famous appearance. And to reiterate, I have no criticism for Shelby Osborne directly. I think she kicks ass. And one other thing the story misses: she only signed a letter of intent. she hasn't made the team and is not, at this point, 'the first defensive back in college history'.