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Adrienne Smith Is Leading the Way for Women in Football

Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.

When Adrienne Smith was 7 years old, her father bought her a football for Christmas and taught her how to throw a perfect spiral. As she grew up, Smith would play with the boys in the neighborhood, but it wasn’t until she became an adult that she found out there was a women’s professional tackle football league.