{"id":137376,"date":"2025-05-28T01:30:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T01:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/137376\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T01:30:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T01:30:10","slug":"we-were-getting-kicked-team-usas-flag-football-qb-does-not-want-nfl-players-dominance-at-2028-olympic-nfl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/137376\/","title":{"rendered":"“We were getting kicked”: Team USA\u2019s flag football QB does not want NFL players’ dominance at 2028 Olympic | NFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""WeTeam USA flag football star Darrell Doucette challenges NFL players, insisting Olympic spots must be earned, not assumed, for 2028 Games. (Getty Images) The NFL recently gave the green light for its players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its official debut. This groundbreaking decision has sparked excitement and speculation, especially around the potential involvement of NFL superstars in the Team USA lineup. However, not everyone in the flag football community is celebrating just yet.<\/p>\n

Olympic dreams clash as flag football star tells NFL players to prove they belong in 2028<\/p>\n

Darrell Doucette III, the seasoned quarterback of the U.S. men\u2019s national flag football team and two-time IFAF world champion, has stepped up as the voice of a community that\u2019s long fought to legitimize the sport. Despite the glamour and global appeal NFL players bring, Doucette is standing firm in his belief that flag football athletes have already earned their spot on the Olympic stage.\u201cThis is a sport that we\u2019ve played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it\u2026 We don\u2019t need other guys,\u201d Doucette told The Washington Post, signaling a quiet storm brewing beneath the surface of this celebratory announcement.The U.S. men’s national team has not just competed, but dominated, with five consecutive world championships to their name. That record didn\u2019t come with million-dollar contracts or massive fanbases\u2014it came through grit, chemistry, and relentless effort. Doucette’s statements aren\u2019t about resisting competition; they\u2019re about respect.\u201cWe felt like we worked hard to get the sport to where it\u2019s at, and then when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we were getting kicked to the side,\u201d he added. \u201cThe flag guys deserve their opportunity. That\u2019s all we want.\u201dTo his credit, Doucette isn\u2019t drawing a hard line. He\u2019s well aware of the talent NFL athletes bring and even welcomes the challenge. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely open to all competition. If those guys come in and ball out and they\u2019re better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country.\u201d It\u2019s not an anti-NFL stance\u2014it\u2019s a call for fair competition.What makes this dialogue even more compelling is Doucette\u2019s confident comparison to one of the league\u2019s greatest. \u201cAt the end of the day, I feel like I\u2019m better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ of the game,\u201d he told TMZ Sports last year. \u201cI know he\u2019s right now the best in the league, I know he\u2019s more accurate, I know he has all these intangibles \u2013 but when it comes to flag football, I feel like I know more than him.\u201dThat statement might raise eyebrows, but it underscores the uniqueness of flag football\u2014a game where precision, agility, and football intellect are often more valuable than raw power. Doucette isn\u2019t claiming superiority over Mahomes as a quarterback in the NFL, but in the flag format, where the rules and pace shift dramatically, he believes his experience gives him the edge.As per the rules approved by the NFL, only one player per NFL team, including designated international players, can represent their country in the Olympic flag football event. That limitation alone suggests a fierce selection process lies ahead\u2014one where national pride and personal legacy will collide.With Los Angeles set to host the 2028 Olympics, all eyes will be on how this roster takes shape. Will NFL names headline the event, or will veterans like Doucette continue leading the charge? Either way, one thing is clear\u2014the battle for Team USA’s flag football roster is about more than medals. It\u2019s about identity, recognition, and preserving the spirit of a sport that has finally found its global spotlight.Also Read: Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s concussion history may end his NFL career sooner than fans expect<\/a>
Get IPL 2025<\/a> match schedules<\/a>, squads<\/a>, points table<\/a>, and live scores for CSK<\/a>, MI<\/a>, RCB<\/a>, KKR<\/a>, SRH<\/a>, LSG<\/a>, DC<\/a>, GT<\/a>, PBKS<\/a>, and RR<\/a>. Check the latest IPL Orange Cap<\/a> and Purple Cap<\/a> standings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team USA flag football star Darrell Doucette challenges NFL players, insisting Olympic spots must be earned, not assumed,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[59934,59935,59936,59937,59938,13088,59933,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-137376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-2028-summer-olympics-flag-football","9":"tag-darrell-doucette-iii","10":"tag-nfl-players-olympics-participation","11":"tag-olympic-flag-football-debut","12":"tag-patrick-mahomes-flag-football","13":"tag-team-usa","14":"tag-team-usa-flag-football","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114582875246590712","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}