If Lauren Silberman truly does have dreams of being the first female to play in the NFL, Sunday was a day best forgotten.
Silberman's participation at the NFL regional scouting combine in New Jersey lasted all of two underwhelming kickoffs before she limped off with an injury.
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Silberman's kickoffs traveled 19 and 13 yards, respectively. After her second kick, Silberman waved over a trainer, effectively ending her day. She later told reporters she aggravated a quadriceps injury she suffered last week while training.
"Obviously, it was a very frustrating day because I wanted to show the world how well I could kick," Silberman said. "I kept trying to work through it, but between the pain and the risk of further injury, I thought it was best to stop."
A New York City resident who played club soccer at the University of Wisconsin, the 28-year-old Silberman made history by being the first woman to participate in a regional combine. She told Around The League last month it was a dream to be "trying out to play in the world's most competitive football league."
NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala was in attendance, representing one of more than 20 media outlets at the New York Jets' practice facility in Florham Park, N.J. Only one of the previous 11 regional combines had enticed more than two outlets.
Kinkhabwala said Silberman didn't kick a single ball during her 30-minute warmup, opting instead to do push-ups and abdominal crunches. Silberman told Kinkhabwala she had been kicking footballs for only a couple of months and wouldn't divulge what was the longest distance she had kicked.
Some more insight from Aditi:
In other words, it all came off like a great big sham. Katie Hnida, a former collegiate kicker and the first woman to score a point in a Division I football game, certainly agrees. She told USA Today Sports that Silberman "was terrible."
Talk about your classic letdowns.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
