INDIANAPOLIS — As college football stars from across the country gather in Indy for the NFL Combine, a second event is working to get more women into the NFL as well.
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Advancing opportunities, bringing professionals together and making football more inclusive for all. That's the goal of the NFL Women's Forum, and that's what leaders told WRTV they hope to continue to do for years to come.
“We truly have created a sisterhood," Sam Rapoport, creator of the Women's Forum, said.
“We’ve gotten to the point where you don’t see the first female coach or the first female scout… It’s become normal, and that’s essentially what you want," Ashton Washington, a past forum participant and current Player Personnel Coordinator with the Chicago Bears, stated.
It's a sight many women never saw.
“In 2017, I was standing on the sidelines at MetLife Stadium, and I looked to my left and my right, and I asked myself, 'Where the hell are all the women on the football side?'" Rapoport explained.
That's what inspired her to create the annual event.
“Ten years ago, you got hired by ‘I know a guy,’ and that was someone that you met socially," Rapoport said. "So we created, we contrived, a social situation here, and now we’ve gone from I know a guy to I know a person.”
“It’s becoming more of a normalcy, like there’s so many opportunities for these inspiring women," Izzy Diaz shared.
Diaz was part of the forum back in 2022. Now, she's working as the Harriet P. Irsay Fellow and on Special Teams for the Colts.
“I was a sophomore in high school, and that was when the first forum came about," Diaz said. "And it just gave so much hope to me that my dream of coaching football was possible, and now here I am.”
“This program has been one of the most successful programs in the NFL," Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL, stated. "The results are clear. We have so many young women who are now in the NFL football positions, also in college football, and we couldn't be prouder.”
The success is clear in the stats:
- For two years now, the NFL has had more women in coaching roles than any other male professional sports league in the world
- Currently, women are represented in all 32 teams' scouting departments
- 40% of women who participated in the program landed a job in football
- Last season, the NFL had 39 women in scouting and scouting-related positions and 23 women on coaching staffs across clubs – both figures are records for the league
“He [our dad] would be often asked, 'Don’t you wish you had a boy?' and we would be right there by the way... and he would say, 'No I wish I had six girls," Kalen Jackson, Colts Co-Owner and Chief Brand Officer, recalled. "They have a perspective that I can’t have, and to be able to add that to this league is important.”
“We’re just here doing our jobs, and I do my job just like anyone else," Diaz stated.
“I hope that when it's my time to go, the NFL is half and half," Rapoport said. "Because that’s what the population is and that’s how our fanbase is split up, so that’s what should be reflected in the game.”
As 319 athletes take to the field to try out for a job in the NFL, the 39 young women at Tuesday's event, and the many more after them, hope to do the same.
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Casey Zanowic is the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy. She joined WRTV in July of 2025. Casey has a passion for storytelling and is ready to showcase impactful stories that make a difference in her community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Casey by emailing her at casey.zanowic@wrtv.com.
