As the first NFL team to employ a female coach, the Cardinals are "forever stamped as pioneers," according to Dan Bickley of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Yesterday's introduction of Jen Welter, hired to coach inside linebackers in training camp and preseason, "did not generate the expected sonic boom" with many people focused on Deflategate news, but it "was a groundbreaking event." The move "stamps the Cardinals as a progressive organization." While the hiring of Welter "came from the heart of head coach Bruce Arians, it was endorsed" by team President Michael Bidwill. That is where the "evolution of the Cardinals really begins" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/29). SPORTS ON EARTH's Jason Hirschhorn wrote it is "no big surprise that the Cardinals are responsible for breaking the gender barrier." Arians, who is one of the league's "most forward-thinking minds," earlier this year "made clear his belief that women could make it to the sidelines in the NFL sooner rather than later" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 7/28). In Phoenix, Sean Hammond notes Arians "had to get the right support: the Bidwill family, General Manager Steve Keim, the rest of his coaching staff." Welter yesterday "hesitated to call herself a trailblazer," but Arians "had no problem saying it" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/29).
A JOB WELL DONE: In Phoenix, Paola Boivin writes, "For those of us who grew up playing, loving, studying, breathing sports, the hire was confirmation that there is a place in that world for us." For years, many "have treated female athletes as the steerage passengers on a ship of sports dreams: mocked for inferior athleticism, humiliated by magazine covers, attacked with ugly pejoratives." Acceptance "remains a work in progress," but Welter "is a terrific candidate to get the NFL ball rolling." Boivin: "Bravo to the Cardinals, who have been at the forefront of equal-opportunity hiring, from bringing aboard the first African-American female executive in the NFL in 1978 to having the first African-American coach-general manager pairing." Cardinals fans "should be proud" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/29). The REPUBLIC's Scott Bordow in a front-page piece writes the hire of Welter is "another welcome sign that the walls men have put up around their beloved sports are slowly coming down." Bordow: "Kudos to the Cardinals, who long have been progressive thinkers when it comes to a person’s gender or skin color." In the "most important of ways, the Cardinals are ahead of the rest of the NFL." Bidwill said, "It was going to be one of the 32 teams. I’m glad it was us" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/29). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said, "I can't see any reason why this is anything other than a magnificent day for the sport" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 7/28).
