Lately, I’ve seen lots of tweets in my Twitter feed about #equalpay and #feminism. I don’t really know why – maybe it’s because there’s a woman running for president or maybe it’s the next “big issue” now that marriage equality has passed. I don’t really know, and to be frank, I don’t really care, for two reasons. First, the only reason I look at Twitter is to see pictures of cute puppies, pizza, or cute puppies with pizza. Second, while I believe in advocating for the advancement of women and I certainly believe in equal pay for equal work, I don’t think bitching on social media and hashtags really solve any problems. I believe in working for it. Proving my point is Jen Welter, who was added to the Arizona Cardinals as a training camp and preseason coaching intern, making her the first female coach in the NFL.

While Welter may be the first woman in such a position, she didn’t get that role for any other reason than she was the best qualified candidate. According to the Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman, he received a text from a player in the AFC about Welter saying, “The truth is, she has more playing experience than some of the coaches who coach me now.” Which is true: Welter has played football professionally for 14 years and most recently served as an assistant coach for the Indoor Football League’s Texas Revolution; she also played in a game for the Revolution last year, becoming the first woman to appear in a men’s pro football game at a position that gets contact.

Welter’s coaching gig comes on the heels of another advancement in the big leagues for women: San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon recently led that team to an NBA Summer League title, making her the first female coach to win an NBA Summer League title; Hammon became the NBA’s first full-time female assistant coach last summer when she was hired by the Spurs.

So maybe instead of bitching and tweeting, women who want these kinds of jobs should put down their phones and get out there and do the hard work, like Welter and Hammon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some work to do to make my dream of becoming the Commissioner of the NFL could come true, starting with figuring out what the hell the NFL Commissioner actually does. See you on the field, ladies..

[via The Bleacher Report]

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Jenna Crowley

Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, and documenting her love of all things cheese related. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.

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