Updates

See the full op-ed on SeattleTimes.com.

It’s a big week for the future of football.

While headlines are dominated by the Seattle Seahawks’ picks in the NFL draft, there’s another development happening under the radar with long-lasting implications. Washington could soon become the 12th state to sanction girls’ flag football as a high school sport.

Expanding access to flag football has the potential to benefit young women in every corner of the state.

Members of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association are voting now through May 3 on an amendment to approve girls’ flag as a varsity sport. If successful, Washington will join states such as California, Arizona, New York and most recently Colorado that have opted to provide greater opportunities to female student-athletes.

The draw of flag football — the reason it has exploded to more than 20 million participants in 100-plus countries — is simple. Flag opens doors for people who’ve historically been on football’s sidelines, including girls, women, people with disabilities and families who can’t afford full-contact equipment.

It’s football for all.

The demand is real. In the U.S., around 500,000 girls under the age of 17 play flag. Nearly 21,000 girls competed on high school teams in 2022-23, an 86% jump in just four years.

The WIAA called out flag’s “broad appeal” in its rationale for proposing the amendment, citing the rapid growth from seven to 43 high school teams in Pierce and King Counties. The Seahawks have committed significant resources to supporting these pilot programs.

There is no doubt the sport will see similar demand in other parts of Washington. Look at New York as one example. A mother who lives upstate, nearly a three-hour drive from MetLife Stadium, home of the Giants and Jets, told me her daughter’s suburban school had 75 girls try out for its inaugural season, competing for one of 23 roster spots.

There are stories like hers in school districts across the country.

The stakes are real, too. Women’s flag is a collegiate NAIA sport on the cusp of breaking into the NCAA, and universities have started awarding scholarships to standout high school players. Late last year, officials added flag to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Countries are now building pipelines for their national teams.

There are also intangibles to consider. Football instills better teamwork, communication and other transferable life skills. Flag is no exception; I’ve experienced self-improvement myself as a football player and witnessed it within my own children who played both flag and tackle.

Until recent years, with few exceptions, only boys had been able to reap the benefits of playing competitive football in high school and beyond. Times have changed. And states that sanction varsity flag football are helping girls realize these opportunities — to improve themselves, to stay active in their sport of choice, or even to chase a dream.

I am hopeful that Washington will adopt girls’ flag. But it’s not a done deal. Some WIAA members are concerned that adding flag football will reduce participation in other sports, especially the ones taking place during the same season. In fact, that’s the only “con” against flag — compared to 23 pieces of rationale — in the documents that were distributed to WIAA voters.

Here’s the bottom line: We can do better. Girls have 1.3 million fewer high-school athletic opportunities than boys, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation. Research has shown limited access is one of the reasons teenage girls stop playing sports at twice the rate of boys.

If girls want to play flag football, let’s make sure they have the agency to make that choice. Status quo is not a reasonable solution.

The WIAA is on the clock. It’s time to bring flag — the most inclusive, accessible version of America’s most popular sport — to high schools statewide.