Flag Soccer Participant Feels ‘Kicked to the Facet’ by NFL Gamers for 2028 Olympics

Flag soccer will take heart stage on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, however a few of the sport’s greatest athletes are involved they’re going to be pushed out in favor of big-name NFL stars.

After NFL group homeowners unanimously voted to permit the league’s gamers to compete within the 2028 Video games, as a part of the league’s efforts to increase its worldwide fanbase, athletes who already play skilled flag soccer are nervous about their probabilities of making the 10-person Olympic roster.

Flag quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette, a four-time world champion for the US’ group, expressed his considerations in a latest interview with The Washington Post.

Doucette, 35, stated, “The flag guys deserve their alternative. That is all we would like. We felt like we labored onerous to get the game to the place it is at, after which when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we have been getting kicked to the facet.”

The quarterback stated he felt like he was “the man who may converse out for my friends, for my brothers that is been working onerous to get to this stage, for us to not be forgotten.”

“It is a sport that we’ve performed for a very long time,” Doucette continued, “and we really feel like we’re the very best at it and we don’t want different guys. However all of us have one purpose in thoughts, and that’s to characterize our nation. We’re undoubtedly open to all competitors. If these guys are available in and ball out and so they’re higher than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our nation.”

Whereas NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have expertise on the NFL discipline, Doucette advised the Washington Submit that flag and deal with soccer are too completely different to even examine the required skillsets.

“It’s fully two completely different video games,” he stated. “You may’t actually examine flag soccer and deal with soccer.”

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Doucette stated these within the NFL “do not perceive” a few of the flag soccer methods. “These are issues that we observe and we work on to turn out to be nice,” Doucette stated.

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah reportedly echoed that assertion when he spoke to reporters after the NFL’s unanimous vote, in keeping with the Washington Submit.

“It requires a number of completely different talents that soccer, on the whole, doesn’t require, however you undoubtedly should have pace, elusiveness and with the ability to get away from folks,” Asamoah stated, including, “It’s a totally completely different recreation.”

Per the NFL’s {qualifications} for the Olympic roster, Staff USA’s roster for the 2028 Video games can embody just one participant from the identical NFL group, in keeping with CBS.

“We’re lucky to have a expertise pool that already options distinguished flag soccer stars who’ve helped USA Soccer set up a gold-medal normal in worldwide competitors,” USA Soccer CEO Scott Hallenbeck stated in a press release, per the Washington Submit.