U.S. flag football players want to end the 'us vs. them' narrative with NFL
U.S. quarterback Darrell Doucette, right, scores a touchdown against Australia during the USA Football Summer Series at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Darrell Doucette didn't mean any disrespect. All the U.S. flag football star wanted to do in an interview that went more viral than any of his numerous highlights was to fight for his sport.
So when he told TMZ in 2024 that he is 'better than Patrick Mahomes' at flag football for his IQ of the sport, the generally soft-spoken Doucette wasn't trying to issue any challenges. Watch the two-time world champion throw touchdowns, catch them, snap the ball and play defense all in the same game and it's clear he prefers to let his game speak.
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'It wasn't about me vs. them,' said Doucette, who is known in the flag football world by his nickname 'Housh.' 'It was about flag football, putting eyes on this game.'
With preparations ramping up for the 2028 Olympics, flag football just wants its respect.
Respect for the sport that is no longer just a child's stepping stone to tackle football.
Respect for its established players who have already won every tournament there is and have eyes for more.
U.S. wide receiver Isabella "Izzy" Geraci runs with the ball during a game against Australia at the USA Football Summer Series at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
'It's not your mom's flag football anymore,' said Callie Brownson, USA Football's senior director of high performance and national team operations.
Flag football has graduated out of backyards and into the Olympics, where the sport will debut in L.A. More than 750 athletes from 10 countries from the youth level to senior national teams gathered at Dignity Health Sports Park last weekend to preview the Olympic future at USA Football's Summer Series, where the U.S. men's and women's national teams played friendlies against Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan.
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The sport's growth domestically and internationally came in part through major investment from the NFL, and the league could play a major role in the Olympics: NFL players are allowed to participate in Olympic competition. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was among the NFL stars who immediately took notice as the NFL most valuable player said he would 'absolutely love' to play if given the opportunity.
Doucette loved hearing the conversation. The New Orleans native grew up playing the sport when seemingly no one else bothered to care. To hear NFL players taking an interest now? It feels like all he ever wanted.
'We're welcoming those guys,' Doucette said. 'We don't have no issue with it. We just want a fair opportunity. We want those guys to come out and learn because there's things that we're going to need to teach them ... and there's things that they can teach us. They can teach us how to run routes and how to cover and do other different things. So it's not us vs. them or them vs. us. It's us together as one teaching each other.'
U.S. wide receiver Ja'Deion High evades an Australian defender during the USA Football "Summer Series" at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Olympic flag football is played with five players per side on a 50-by-25-yard field. Teams have four downs to reach midfield and four more to score from inside midfield. The basic tenants of offensive football remain the same from its tackle counterpart: throw, catch, run.
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But players don't juke the same way their tackle counterparts can, wide receiver Ja'Deion High said. When the former Texas Tech receiver was learning the sport, he was stunned when defenders still pulled his flag after what he believed were his best moves. He had to learn flag football's unique hip dips and flips to keep his flags away from defenders.
The adjustment on defense could be even more difficult. Defenders cannot hinder an opposing player's forward progress. The NFL's most mundane hand-check would draw a penalty in flag football.
'The athletic ability [of an NFL player], I'm not questioning,' said defensive back Mike Daniels, a former cornerback at West Virginia. 'But the IQ aspect, the speed of the game is completely different.'
USA Football, the governing body of U.S. flag football responsible for selecting the national team, has not outlined how NFL players will fit into the tryout process for the 2028 Olympic cycle. But with the Games scheduled for July 14-July 30, the one-week flag competition could overlap with the beginning of NFL training camps. Even preparations to learn the new sport and practice its unique schemes would take valuable offseason time away from NFL players.
U.S. wide receiver Laval Davis, left, attempts to catch a pass as an Australian player defends during the USA Football Summer Series on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley was ready to burst into patriotic song at the mention of representing the United States in the Olympics, but when reminded that he might have to miss part of training camp for it, he backed off immediately. He spoke directly into a video camera to assure Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh that the job that pays him $5.4 million on a four-year rookie contract is all he needs.
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USA Football has remained in contact with the NFL about how to integrate professionals, said Brownson, who worked for the Cleveland Browns for five seasons, including three as the assistant wide receivers coach. With the Games still three years away, USA Football is focused on keeping doors open to all prospects and offering educational opportunities for potential players to become familiar with flag football.
"The cool thing about our process is when you come out to trials, there is no name on the back of your jersey,' Brownson said. 'You get a number and you have the same opportunity to try out as the person next to you. ... We'll just be excited to have the best team that we could but I always do and will always stand up for who we currently field.
'They're the best flag football players in the world, both men and women, and they deserve their flowers, too."
The U.S. men's national team is the five-time defending International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world champions. Since Doucette made his national team debut in 2020, the U.S. men are undefeated in international tournaments with gold medals at two world championships (2021, 2024), the 2022 World Games and the 2023 continental championship.
U.S. wide receiver Amber Clark-Robinson scores a touchdown against Australia at the USA Football Summer Series at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Led by quarterback Vanita Krouch, the women's team is 33-1 in the last six years. The U.S. women have won three consecutive IFAF world championships and the 2023 continental title while finishing second at the 2022 World Games.
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Krouch has become an international flag football star after a four-year basketball career at Southern Methodist. Examining talent transfers from other sports has helped strengthen the USA Football athlete pipeline as the organization researches the best qualities for flag football.
Baseball and softball players who can whip passes from odd arm angles can thrive in a game that features multiple quarterbacks. The U.S. national teams have former basketball, soccer and track and field stars.
The sport values agility and elusiveness. While the NFL's 40-yard dash is the premier test for speed, it may be less valuable in flag football, Brownson said. The perfect flag football player combines that straight-line speed with quickness.
Read more: Rams players and coaches like the idea of competing in flag football at L.A. Olympics
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"There's such an art and a craft and a different style of dance that we do,' Krouch said. 'I say tackle football is like hip hop, krump dancing. ... We ballet dance. It's finesse, it's clean, it's creative."
The quarterback served as an offensive coordinator in the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl, the first version of the All-Star game to feature a flag football format. Leading the NFC team to victory, Krouch loved sharing flag football's unique route combinations. She noticed how the NFL's best showed their respect for her sport by enthusiastically learning the different nuances.
The Pro Bowl experience was one of many surreal moments for Krouch in her nearly two-decade career of playing flag football. From playing in a local league, the 44-year-old has become a multi-time gold medalist. She never thought this sport she sometimes teaches in her elementary physical education classes could become this big.
U.S. defensive back Laneah Bryan, left, tries to pull a flag off an Australian player during the USA Football Summer Series on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
The announcement that flag football would officially debut in the 2028 Olympics brought it to even greater heights. No question Krouch wants to play in the Games.
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But the competition at tryouts every year gets 10 times harder, two-time national team member Ashlea Klam said. The 19-year-old plays flag football on a scholarship for NAIA-level Keiser University and recognizes no one is guaranteed a spot each year as the talent pool grows. It will be even more difficult to make the 10-person Olympic roster.
As each year's tryouts get more competitive, Doucette sees his hope for the sport coming true. He knows the better prospects are a sign that more people are paying attention to flag football. If in three years at BMO Stadium, the eyes are fixated on another quarterback leading the United States at the Olympics, Doucette will consider that still mission accomplished.
"No matter if I'm a part of the team or not, I will still be around the game,' Doucette said. 'That's my goal is still to be there, in general, no matter if I'm playing or watching."
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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