The College of William & Mary’s idea of empowerment is having the men’s head football coach teach women about football.
So what’s the deal?
“I’m a football coach number one and I’m a football dad,” said Mike London, Tribe football coach, adding he is the father of four daughters. “I’ve been in homes recruiting young men ––– sisters, aunts, mothers and grandmothers who want to learn more about the game.”
According to London’s tweet, the clinic includes “activities and instruction include in classroom clinic and video presentation, leadership and empowerment seminars, training room, equipment room presentations, officials – strategies for playing the game with classroom and field special guests coaching staff.”
WYDaily reached out to the college’s athletics department to learn more about “Mike London’s Women’s Empowerment Clinic Powered by Football.”
London said the clinic is a safe space for women to ask any question about the sport such as what is the official’s role in the game and how to hold, carry and throw a football.
In addition, London noted the women will be split up into different groups according to skill level or knowledge about the sport and discuss topics such as safety measure the college has in place regarding concussions and various career opportunities for women like becoming a sports announcer or a professional football player.
But the college does not plan on offering a football program for women — London said he would offer women a scholarship who has the academic and athletic skill set for the sport.
WYDaily asked both London and Pete Clawson, spokesman for the college’s athletics department, why the empowerment clinic was about football instead of a sport where women can participate, such as soccer and how the clinic applies to women’s empowerment.
London said he is a football coach and has a “football family” and his goal is to show women there are opportunities for them to “go on and play” professionally, like his daughter.
Clawson said he would not comment and did not have an answer. Later, he posed the question: “why can’t football have those values?”
Pat Reuss vice president of the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization for Women questioned the intention behind the empowerment clinic as well as the career opportunities for women.
“It’s really a course to ‘help’ young women learn about football so they’ll watch the games with the men in their life…and will go to games and buy the paraphernalia,” Reuss wrote. “The best way to empower women is to empower girls, just like STEM programs start in grade school, and help them love and participate in sports for themselves.”
A few days later after learning more about the empowerment clinic, Reuss offered a different opinion.
“We believe he has good intentions because there are many women who want to be interested in this sport,” Reuss said, adding she was cynical at first but she thinks London is the “model of empowerment” since he decided to train and teach his daughter how to play football early to “maximize her athleticism.”
Her only critique was empowering women and noted teaching college women [about football] is not empowering them.
“Women’s empowerment needs to go back in grade school,” Reuss said. “Train us and we will be as good as you. You have to start training us.”
So far, five speakers have been confirmed for the clinic, including two of London’s daughters. Additional speakers will be added at a later date.
- Kristen London, U.S. Football gold medalist and professional football player for the Denver Bandits.
- Samantha Huge, W&M’s athletics director.
- Kandice Mitchell, a high school athletics director and commissioner of the Women’s National Football Conference.
- Dana Lashley, a W&M teacher and professional football player for the Richmond Black Widows.
- Ticynn London, Old Dominion University graduate who is pursuing her master’s degree in physical therapy at Lynchburg college.
Mike London’s Women’s Empowerment Clinic powered by Football is at the Jimmye Laycock Center 100 on Aug. 11 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Registration is at 2 p.m. and athletic attire is encouraged.
