Talking about Sarah Fuller as a ‘first’ avoids the uncomfortable conversation of Katie Hnida

https://deadspin.com/talking-about-sarah-fuller-as-a-first-avoids-the-unco [login to see] /amp
"Katie Hnida became the first woman to kick points in an FBS game in 2003 for New Mexico, and April Goss followed that up for Kent State in 2015. Both of those women were football players, part of their respective teams for years, before getting their opportunities. Fuller’s story is inspiring, and her approach to pressure is excellent, but it isn’t to be confused with systemic progress."

"Which may be why it is easier for college football rights holders to hail Fuller’s accomplishment as “first woman” rather than looking at the complexity that is the history of women in kicking. There have been other women in the game as well, Willamette’s Liz Heaton, Jacksonville State’s Ashley Martin, West Alabama’s Tonya Butler, and Lebanon Valley’s Brittany Ryan.

“The first one through the wall is often bloodied,” is a quote that someone gave Hnida a long time ago, and she has put it on her wall to remind her that breaking barriers is painful. Hnida first played football in Colorado, where she said she was raped by a teammate. She went public four years later, but charges were never filed."

"Hnida’s story is likely part of the reason Fuller gets the “first woman” headline. Easier to ring-fence the ridiculously short Power 5 era than tell Hnida’s story again. You can’t have the light-hearted celebration when you are forced to remember how sports can treat those women who dare to break the barriers."