Jalen Hurts spoke this past weekend at the Eagles’ Women’s Football Festival at Lincoln Financial Field, and unsurprisingly to anyone, gave a speech that was quite the opposite of the one delivered by Harrison Butker at Bendictine College a week earlier.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts spearheads the investment of women in sports
Hurts has long been an ally for women to be in any position that men have the right to be.
“I’m here advocating for it, not only in football but in every situation. We all know the woman is the rock of everything.” – Jalen Hurts
Jalen has a strong foundation and shares close relationships with his grandmother, mother, and sister, whom he mentioned during the event.
He also talked about the city of Philadelphia.
“I honestly think it’s reflective of just how the fanbase is here. You see more of a variety of support from women in our community. That’s good for the team.” (People.com)
Hurts does not just talk about women’s rights, he lives it, and his actions show it.
Jalen has comprised an all-women-led business team. Who he describes as “straight hustlers”
The Team:
January 2020. Jalen has just played the last game of his college career. Nicole Lynn, now his agent, had sent Hurts a message via Instagram.
“Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I’d love to link.”
A shot in the dark, even the way Lynn describes it.
Most players heading into the NFL Draft have already chosen their agent. But Hurts was still in the process. The fact she was a female didn’t deter Jalen from seeing what she had to offer.
Lynn has stated that she met with Jalen’s dad for three hours before meeting with Hurts himself. She left the meeting not knowing what to expect and didn’t have a read for how it went. She never got a read on Jalen either, but the young quarterback had seemingly noticed something about her.
You know that fire he described earlier that turns him up and feeds his desire to prove everyone wrong?
“I saw that same fire in Nicole. She (Lynn) said, ‘I’m a woman. People are going to overlook me. People are going to doubt me. They’re not going to give me the due respect. But I’m overcoming it, just like you do’. And that’s where we really hit it off. We had the same vision.”
His vision, which included choosing Lynn to be his agent, would be just the beginning. Jalen comprised a team of the brightest and the best he could find. Coincidentally, they just all happened to be female.
“I’ve put a lot of trust and faith in a female-driven team. I admire anyone who puts their head down and works for what they want. And I know women who do that daily, but they don’t get the same praise as men. They don’t get the praise that they deserve”
Jalen’s decisions may help to change that.
“My goal in speaking out on this is to advocate for and support the investment in women in sports.”
And Jalen didn’t just speak out, he responded with action by hiring Jenna Malphrus, management. Chantal Romain, communications. Shakeemah Simmons-Winter, communications. Rachel Everett, marketing, and his Agent mentioned earlier, Nicole Lynn.
So far the results speak for themselves. Everything has gone well and he and his team have been hustling off and on the field.
The Future:
Hopefully, efforts like his will be one of the sparks that light the fire to changing the opinions of some in which women are viewed in sports and management.
Hopefully, he will have the impact of a coffee bean.
“You know, I think you’ve got to try to be the coffee bean. Whenever I say coffee bean, you’ve got the carrot and the egg. You put an egg in boiling water, it hardens up. It doesn’t affect anything. The carrot softens up. The coffee bean spreads and gets stronger and impacts the people around you, you know? I’m trying to be that coffee bean.” Jalen Hurts
A walking quote machine with such zingers as“I’m the thermostat! I set the temperature of the room” also makes an analogy using the word “coffee bean”. He also somehow made it make sense and sound cool.
Be a coffee bean.
As always, Thank You for reading!
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AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson
