female kicker

[NovaScotian]

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/19/sports/colleges-five-years-later-a-female-kicker-s-memorable-victory.html

i just saw this linked to in an article about a female kicker at a d-ii school. i had no idea this had happened at duke, and am sad to see it had worked out this way. of course, i was less than 10 years old when she enrolled so i probably wouldn't have heard of it, but for those on/around the campus in the mid 90's, was this a huge deal? what kind of attention did it attract at the time?

(i debated putting this on the off topic board, so mods, please move it if necessary).

[CameronBornAndBred]

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/19/sports/colleges-five-years-later-a-female-kicker-s-memorable-victory.html

i just saw this linked to in an article about a female kicker at a d-ii school. i had no idea this had happened at duke, and am sad to see it had worked out this way. of course, i was less than 10 years old when she enrolled so i probably wouldn't have heard of it, but for those on/around the campus in the mid 90's, was this a huge deal? what kind of attention did it attract at the time?

(i debated putting this on the off topic board, so mods, please move it if necessary).
It was a huge deal that hat positive aspects in the beginning, was even promoted in a positive light, and then turned ugly. She kicked in the spring game (successfully), and then it was pretty much downhill from there. It was a strange situation, in that Goldsmith took her on the team, and then pretty much turned his back on her.
Here is some info (transcript from ESPN show on it), you can find plenty online.
http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show29transcript.html

[Highlander]

It was a huge deal that hat positive aspects in the beginning, was even promoted in a positive light, and then turned ugly. She kicked in the spring game (successfully), and then it was pretty much downhill from there. It was a strange situation, in that Goldsmith took her on the team, and then pretty much turned his back on her.
Here is some info (transcript from ESPN show on it), you can find plenty online.
http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show29transcript.html

Was on campus at the time. Here's what I remember...

At first it was kind of a novelty thing. The football team was only a year or two removed from a bowl appearance, and 0-11 seasons were not the norm. It hit it's pinnacle when she kicked the winning field goal at the spring game (non-contact, 30 yarder which barely cleared the uprights) and was told by the coach that she'd made the team.

During the summer and fall, she was essentially beaten out for her walk on spot by some other kickers who walked on. The coach tried to 'protect' her and gently talk her out of it rather than just outright cut her, and in the process of trying to go easy on her/make her life difficult, he treated her differently than the guys. Things like not going thru full practice, not wearing pads, not having a separate shower stall, etc. He also made some inappropriate comments about how she should sit in the stands with her boyfriend rather than play. I always thought his comments reflected more his generational gap than any ill will. He honestly thought he was protecting her, and ultimately he probably was, but she didn't want protection and doing so was discriminatory.

Ultimately, Mercer won the case, but if I remember correctly, the $2M award was reversed on appeal from Duke, so she didn't get any $. The sad thing was that it probably pushed women in football back 5-10 years, because Duke would have been well within their rights to not even allow her a tryout. By allowing her a tryout, they had to treat her the same as the guys, and they didn't. As a result, most schools who were thinking about letting a female try out took the safe route and didn't even give them an opportunity to do so.

Anway, other than it being a story I don't remember anything memorable about it from when I was there.