College Football Team's First Female Player Widely Mocked Over Kicking

Jackson State University's (JSU) first woman football player has been subjected to criticism and derision on social media after stepping in as kicker for the team on Sunday in light of injuries to other players.

Mississippi-based JSU saw its Tigers face off against fellow historically Black college or university (HBCU) Bethune-Cookman University's Wildcats. And while JSU emerged the victors, the game included an historic moment.

Leilani Armenta, a freshman on JSU's soccer team, became the first woman in JSU football history when she participated in the game. She is also believed to be the first woman to kick in HBCU Division I history.

However, when footage of the moment was shared on social media, a host of users on X, formerly Twitter, directed largely sexist criticism at Armenta over the quality of her kick.

Sports commentator Jon Root posted a video clip of Armenta's kick, writing: "The first female college football player in HBCU history. Wow. What a boot."

The post drew a wave of reactions from social media users, a number of whom chose to focus on Armenta's gender as justification for their criticisms.

"I guarantee that there are at least 25 guys on that team who could kick better," one X user wrote in reaction to the clip, while another commented that "the average high school male could kick the ball farther with absolutely no training."

"Did her dad sponsor the game?" asked another detractor. "I can't think of other reason why she is on the pitch."

Texas-based radio host Mark Davis criticized the inclusion of a woman at all in the game.

"Stop this nonsense," he wrote. "We protect women's sports because of differences between men and women. Every player on a football team is a proper potential target for a leveling block or tackle (even kickers if there's a long return). No man can regard a woman in this way. Enough."

Amid the criticism, several other X users spoke out in Armenta's defense, pointing out that she participated in the game with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

"She has leg brace," one viewer commented. "Kudos to her for even trying."

Another wrote of Ventura, California, native Armenta: "She went to a school in my town she tore her ACL in a soccer training practice before football her senior year and played her entire senior football year with no brace."

For her part, Armenta shared a video of herself returning to the field after as she continues to recover from her ACL injury.

"Thank you JSU fans, coaches and teammates for all of the love and support!" the she said. "This was one of my first kicks last week, 10 months post ACL surgery. I have played for 4 years with my senior season being played on a torn ACL. Grateful and Thankful!"

She also retweeted a video clip of Bradley Davis, a sports anchor at Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT defending her from the online criticism.

"Just like anytime a woman does anything in a male-dominated sport, the social media warriors they made sure we all knew that there was a man who could've done it better," Davis said in the footage.

"Maybe it's just harder to do than you think it is, maybe you didn't take care to look beyond the surface. Leilani played three years of varsity football in high school. She made 98 out of 105 extra point attempts in her career. She also suited up when Coach [T.C.] Taylor called, despite recovering from ACL surgery.

"Maybe you chose to ignore that brace she had on her kicking leg. So next time you get mad watching a woman play football because they could've found a man to do it better, go out and kick 105 extra points. Let me know how many of those you make."

Newsweek has contacted representatives of JSU via email for comment.

Armenta joins Shaw University junior India Pulphus and Haley Van Voorhis, a junior at Shenandoah University, as the first female football players on their respective teams.

In an interview with the Ventura County Star following her first football game back in 2021, Armenta spoke about her introduction to the sport.

"Before I got to high school, I had never even touched a football," she told the publication. "I thought I could do that, I have confidence in myself as a kicker. So I wanted to give it a try."

After initially being nervous about trying out for the high school team, she was subsequently successful in her attempts and landed the role of starting kicker.

"I was nervous about everything," she said. "I was playing a sport I had never played before and was playing with a bunch of boys. There were a couple of boys who I could tell weren't all that happy with me being there. But I wanted to prove what I can do. I have confidence in myself."