HOUSTON (AP) — Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Johnson didn’t skip a beat when asked what advice he’d give to girls who want to play football. “Tell them, get out there,” he said. Johnson joined the Houston Texans on Saturday at NRG Stadium as they hosted a screening of the documentary “The Herricanes” about a women’s professional tackle football team that played in Houston in the 1970s.
The screening included members of the Herricanes, the movie’s director Olivia Kuan, the Houston Westbury High School girls flag football team and Hannah McNair, the Houston Texans Foundation’s vice president and wife of Texans owner Cal McNair. The Texans are working to get more girls involved in football in the city and the team’s foundation sponsors flag football teams at 12 high schools in the Houston Independent School District and nine more from charter schools. Next year, the Texans will expand the program to all 25 HISD high schools as they work to get the state to sanction girls flag football as a UIL sport.
“We refocused our foundation last year to focus on girls flag football because we want to create the opportunity for all girls here in Houston to be able to play the game that we love and we know how it can be life changing,” McNair said. “We know how it can change a girl’s life, her mental health, the sisterhood of being involved and just ..
. being inspired by those around you.” The McNairs have long been involved in flag football with Janice McNa.
