International Woman's Day: Cincinnati team defying stereotypes, tackling football head-on
A team in Cincinnati in its second year is shaking up expectations in America’s most popular sport on this International Women’s Day.
The Cincinnati Cougars is a professional women's football team gearing up for their upcoming season in April.
In a sport typically dominated by men, these women are defying stereotypes and tackling football head-on.
"I couldn't do the peewee thing. My parents wouldn't let me," Jackie Leonard, who plays on both the offensive and defensive lines, said. Similarly, quarterback and two-time All-American Angela Mason recalls being denied the opportunity to play in high school because football was considered a "boys' sport."
The Cincinnati Cougars are one of 64 teams in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) semi-pro league across the country.
"This is full-contact, lay you out, tackle football," rookie tight end Taylor Terry said.
With players ranging from 19 to 55 years old, the team is a diverse mix of backgrounds and professions, including mothers, nurses and cancer survivors.
"Anything that you see yourself as, you can find it mirrored here in this team," Terry said.
For Terry, joining the Cougars meant finding a new sense of self. "Everything in my life kind of became focused around being a mom. And I needed something that was for me," she said.
And if you think women can’t hit, players say you need to come to a game.
"Come out here, come watch a game, come see what it's about. Let us hit you, and you'll see what it's about," Leonard said.
It’s ultimately about protecting each other on and off the field and trying something new.
"I can come out here and learn a new sport in my thirties and take these big hits and get my speed and my strength up. I don't know what is out there that I can't accomplish. This is mental and physical, and I'm tackling both of them," Terry said.
While the Cougars practice in Fairfield, their games are held at Walnut Hills Stadium. They encourage fans to come out and support them as they strive for the championship this year. The team will unveil its official mascot at the Cincinnati Zoo on March 22.