Latest news with #EdEastonJr.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes comments on incredible catch at NFL FLAG Championships
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Alexia Gallagher, Executive Director of the NFL Foundation, and Stephanie Kwok, the head of Flag Football, to discuss the impactful youth development through flag football. "NFL FLAG-In-School, we want to ensure that underserved youth have every opportunity to play and that we're helping to level the playing field," said Gallagher, "Those teachers have access to all the resources available to stay healthy and fit. We believe that playing flag football is one of the best ways to do that. When we talk about youth health and wellness and how our campaign was focused on physical wellness, over the years, we expanded our youth health and wellness work to include mental wellness as well, and really to ensure that our work supports the whole child so physically through grant partnerships like the one that we have with GENYOUth on the NFL FLAG-In-School program." The Kansas City Chiefs often highlight youth flag football teams in the community, promoting the sport and its impact on the future. All players in the program have the opportunity to learn from legendary NFL athletes and staff. Patrick Mahomes was one of the many on social media commenting on an incredible touchdown reception during a boys' flag football game on Saturday. "There's so many NFL players that grew up playing flag football that it was a part of their elementary school days, even beyond into middle school as well," said Kwok, "So I think hearing when they share that experience, when they share that they play flag football, that it helps with their early exposure to football, and it helps with their skills development, that's a route that you can take. You can start with flag football, you can move on from there to tackle football, to either playing in the NFL, and then also, though, now there's that opportunity right for women to play football through flag football, and that's an opportunity that they didn't have before. Now, you can play in high school, you can play in college, and you can play in the Olympics alongside men and NFL players. I think that's what's special about flag football. You see everyone playing flag football, from NFL players to our current national flag team players to college and high school players, to just kids in gym and physical education class. That's what shows, I think, how truly accessible and inclusive it is." NFL FLAG-In-School is a critical entry point for millions of students to get moving in school. By providing free flag football equipment and a standards-based curriculum to schools, the program empowers educators to motivate students with a fun and inclusive activity designed for all skill levels.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The Kansas City Chiefs have a presence at the 2025 NFL FLAG Championships
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Stephanie Kwok, the Vice President and head of Flag Football, to discuss the impact the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the league are having on the ongoing NFL FLAG-In-School program with GENYOUth and this weekend's 2025 NFL FLAG Championships. "We've got 300 teams coming out, about 3,000 athletes. Everything's going to broadcast on ESPN and Disney channels as well as the NFL network." said Kwok, "So looking forward to a long weekend of flag football and some of the best youth flag football will be going on in the country and and in and in the world, with some of our international teams coming too." Ten youth flag football teams will represent the Kansas City Chiefs at the 2025 NFL FLAG Championships at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio. The teams qualified through last October's NFL FLAG Regional Tournament and compete in Chiefs-branded uniforms. "It's so interesting because flag football has been around for a long time, for decades as a recreational sport, but over the last few years, we've just seen that growth explode. I think there have been a lot of factors. I think the tailwind of the Olympic announcement back in late 2023 certainly helps with that." said Kwok, "But I think it's really to the culmination of a lot of the grassroots efforts that we've been seeing by all of the NFL clubs, by NFL itself, by all of the organizations in the community, just continuing to build flag football, continuing to build especially opportunities for girls to play in high school, for them to go then go on and play in college, so now you're seeing that momentum. With over 30 states offering high school programs for girls, there are more than 100 colleges that have either varsity or club teams as well. So that's a snapshot of all the growth we saw in the U.S., not even mentioned globally." The KC Novas, Prairie Fire, Thunder Monkeys II, KC Shockers 12u, Thunder Monkeys, Grip Boost Elite, KC Heat—Red, and KC Shockers will represent Kansas. The KC Kings and Mambas will join them from Missouri. "We've got the NFL FLAG-In-School program as well, which GENYOUth runs and which the NFL Foundation funds, that is just trying to help increase that accessibility," said Kwok. "But we're seeing that, not just at the elementary school levels, but that carries through with the accessibility. So I think one really interesting statistic in high school is that 50% of the girls on the high school flag football team are playing a high school sport for the first time, so we're just increasing opportunities for kids, for girls, to play sports, but also to have that experience of being on a high school athletic team." NFL FLAG-In-School is a critical entry point for millions of students to get moving in school. By providing free flag football equipment and a standards-based curriculum to schools, the program empowers educators to motivate students with a fun and inclusive activity designed for all skill levels.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL FLAG-In-School, GENYOUth impact Kansas City Chiefs youth flag football teams
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with Alexia Gallagher, the NFL's Vice President of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the NFL Foundation, to discuss the impact of the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the league on the ongoing NFL Flag in School program, in partnership with GENYOUth."Health and wellness are paramount to the NFL Foundation's philanthropic work. We launched our NFL Play 60 campaign to help encourage youngsters to get 60 minutes of daily activity. We also worked with several national nonprofits and science partners, NFL clubs, and players to help address the issue," said Gallagher. "In 2014, the NFL Foundation continued that work and partnered with GENYOUth to help support something they had in mind. It was high-quality physical education opportunities and opportunities for students to be active before, during, and after school. GENYOUth developed this innovative, turnkey approach to help physical education teachers build this foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for their students via the NFL Flag in School program. And since then, more than 17 million students have engaged in flag football through the program in schools, thanks to the distribution of flag kits to more than 40,000 school communities across the country."Ten youth flag football teams represent the Kansas City Chiefs at the 2025 NFL FLAG Championships. The franchise hosted a private sendoff event in the Founder's Club at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to honor the players. The celebration recognized the teams' effort and teamwork. "There's so much excitement around it now, especially with flag football going to be in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and we're continuing to see demand from schools wanting to participate in this program, and with that, you see a lot of participation," said Gallagher "obviously, from NFL clubs, from NFL players. The NFL Foundation supports many players and legends who host free youth football camps during the offseason. That includes many flag football camps as well. GENYOUth received more applications than ever for NFL FLAG-In-School kits and is delivering a record 5,100 kits to schools nationwide for the upcoming school year, with a particular focus on high-need, underserved communities. This will increase the program's cumulative reach to over 45,000 kits in more than 30,000 schools, impacting over 17 million students. "Many of these kits are distributed to schools in underserved communities. We want to ensure that all students can access this healthy and fun sport regardless of their background. And I would say that a key point here is that the NFL Foundation is committed to supporting the next generation of leaders," said Gallagher. "We want to ensure that our country's youth have access to the resources and tools needed to stay physically healthy, and the NFL flag in school program is a critical part of those efforts, you know, providing those youngsters with the opportunity to move, play, and grow through the sport of flag football. This would not be possible without our long-standing partnership with GENYOUth. We're really proud of that partnership and all they have done to develop this program and make it the success it is today." NFL FLAG-In-School is a critical entry point for millions of students to get moving in school. By providing free flag football equipment and a standards-based curriculum to schools, the program empowers educators to motivate students with a fun and inclusive activity designed for all skill levels.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield discusses overtime rule change after 2024 thriller vs. Chiefs
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield about his participation in this weekend's American Century Championship, which will take place July 11-13 at Edgewood Tahoe. He also discussed his thoughts on the best NFL player to compete against on the golf course and his reaction to the new overtime rules after last season's thrilling Monday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs."I honestly love being on the horse," said Mayfield, "I'm not good enough to take it too seriously (golf). I like to have a good time. But playing with Josh Allen is always a blast because he can. You just sit back and watch him hit off the tee box, and you're like, this actually is Happy Gilmore in real life. He's hitting it a mile. So it's pretty entertaining to watch him."During the offseason, NFL teams approved a rule that aligns the postseason and regular-season overtime rules by allowing both teams to possess the ball, even if the first team scores a touchdown, subject to a 10-minute overtime period in the regular season. The first possession can end with a winner if the defense intercepts a pass or makes a tackle in the end zone for a safety, which would still technically be considered the first possession. Mayfield shared his thoughts on the change after falling victim to the scenario in Tampa Bay's 30-24 overtime loss to Kansas City in Week 9 of last season."I'm pretty excited about it; it gives us a chance if you don't win the coin toss. So, I mean, I think that's the way it should be." Mayfield said, "It shouldn't be based on a flip of the coin. Both teams should get a chance, and may the best one win." The annual golf tournament awards $750,000 in prize money, much of which the celebrity players donate to local and national charities. Over the years, nearly $8 million has been donated to non-profit causes. Network television exposure on NBC and a first-place prize of $150,000 make the celebrity tournament one of the most prestigious in the golf out the website for more information about the American Century Championship.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL Icon Jerome Bettis weighs in on the importance of franchise running backs
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Pro Football Hall of Famer and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Jerome Bettis. Bettis is participating in this year's American Century Championship, which will take place July 9-13 at Edgewood Tahoe. Bettis shared his thoughts on the importance of teams committing to a franchise running back, as many, including Kansas City Chiefs starter Isiah Pacheco, await word on a potential contract extension."Well, teams must understand that when you find a franchise running back, you sign them. Make no mistake, because he changes the complexion of what your team looks like and how your team will perform. I think people often look at where the NFL is today; it's more of a passing league, and because of that, people have taken the running back position a little bit for granted," said Bettis, "And say, you know what? We can get just a guy to go out and give us 12 to 15 carries, and then we get another guy to give us another 10 or 8 carries. We can do it by just getting a couple of good players, and they don't have to pay the price of a top-tier running back, and they can put that money in other places. They are starting to realize that if I don't have a franchise running back, my team looks different than some of these teams competing for a championship because they have that go-to running back now."Bettis praised Philadelphia's decision to sign Saquon Barkley and his success as an example of a franchise running back. During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, he mentioned several others, including Pacheco from the Chiefs, who hasn't been offered an extension yet."I will say this: it's not easy to find the franchise running backs because the colleges aren't running the ball the way they used to. So you don't see as many coming out of the NFL. Every year, you see one, maybe two. I think they had two solid running backs in this draft, so you felt good about drafting in the first round," Bettis told Easton Jr., "So you're not finding as many as you used to. But when you find one, you better keep them and pay them. You saw Green Bay (Packers). They went out and got a guy who was a bell cow, and he (Josh Jacobs) changed what that team looked like. Then you look at Baltimore (Ravens). They go out, and they go and get a guy (Derrick Henry). They're getting a stud, which makes them look different, so when you find them and bring them in, it changes your team, and you see the difference. So it's not a mistake that these teams have had the years that they have with the running backs that they have."The annual tournament awards $750,000 in prize money, much of which the celebrity players donate to local and national charities. Over the years, nearly $8 million has been donated to non-profit causes. Network television exposure on NBC and a first-place prize of $150,000 make the celebrity tournament one of the most prestigious in the golf world. Check out the website for more information about the American Century Championship.
