Becca Longo, the first woman to earn a NCAA scholarship to play football, spoke to Bleacher Report about her critics.
In the interview, the 18-year-old Longo said despite her critics saying she’s merely a ‘publicity stunt’, she’s not going to let that bother her.
‘I’ve heard people say that I’m just a publicity stunt, that I don’t deserve this chance,’ Longo said. ‘I don’t let that bother me. I just need to stay true to who I am – and stay true to what I’ve learned and keep improving – and I’ll be just fine. I really believe that. I really do.’
Back in March of 2017, the 5-foot-11, 140-pound Longo, became the first woman to earn a NCAA scholarship to play for a Division II school.
Longo committed to Adams State University in Colorado, where she will play for Coach Timm Rosenbach, a former NFL quarterback. Rosenbach says he sees a lot of promise in Longo.
‘If you can play football and you have determination, I don’t care what your gender is,’ Rosenbach said. ‘And Becca can play, simple as that. She’s got accuracy and she’s got a powerful leg, which will only get stronger. We brought her to Adams State for a reason: to compete for a job and help us win football games.’
Longo hit 30 of 33 point-after tries and connected on a 30-yard field goal during her senior season. She says she was inspired to play football by her older brother Bobby, who played football in California.
Longo also intends to play college basketball at Adams State, as she averaged 2.9 points per game and 1.6 rebounds per game as a senior at Basha High School.
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