On Christmas Day, Katie Hnida made college football history. After the New Mexico Lobos scored on an interception return to take a 6-3 lead in the Las Vegas Bowl, Hnida strode onto the field, waited for the snap, and attempted the extra point. With a swing of her leg, Hnida became engraved in the record books as the first female to play Division I-A college football.
After the game, little was made about the fact that her kick was blocked, or that New Mexico ended up losing by 14 points to a UCLA team that lacked a permanent head coach. Instead, attention was focused squarely on Hnida, who became the first person ever to receive a "game ball" from ESPN for missing an extra-point.
The fact that Hnida broke Division I-A college football's gender barrier would have deserved every ounce of coverage it received--if only Hnida had deserved the honor to begin with.
There was one reason and one reason only why Hnida was sent onto the field to attempt the extra-point: she was a woman. Hnida was not the team's first-string kicker, Kenny Byrd was. The reason why Byrd was not on the field for the extra point was not because of an injury, a lost helmet or the calling of nature; it was because he was a man, and his backup was not.
"Katie is a valuable member of our team,'" Long said after the game. "I think it's a very unusual situation, and she's put in a position a lot of times that's very uncomfortable. I made the decision before the game that we were going to let her kick the first extra point."
Long didn't promote Hnida to the team's first-string kicker--he clearly didn't feel that she deserved that role. Instead, Long allowed Hnida the opportunity to kick one extra-point. Go out there, set the record, and then go sit on the bench.
Some achievement.
Sports records mean nothing if they are simply manufactured. Long could have sent out a blind man with one leg to kick the extra-point, and that would have set a record, too. Such an accomplishment would have been meaningful, but would have meant nothing if it was not honestly deserved. In Hnida's case, her roster spot was the deserved result of her hard work and dedication. Her extra-point attempt was her reward for being female.
The fact that Long decided before the game to give Hnida an extra-point chance smacks football in the face. How many other NCAA coaches let their second-string kickers try the first extra-point in a game, just so they can get some PT? The fourth quarter of a 48-0 game is one thing, but eight minutes into the Las Vegas Bowl is quite another. Long's decision was not based on giving his team the best chance to win--it was based on trying to manufacture a record.
If Katie Hnida or any other female becomes the starting placekicker on a Division I-A team, I will be among the first to salute her. Women should have the same chances as men to play football and earn starting jobs.
But if Hnida remains the Lobos' second-string kicker, then she belongs exactly where every other team's second-string kicker belongs: sitting on the bench.
Evan Davis is a Trinity senior and senior associate sports editor. His column appears every Wednesday
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