Great article on Mimi Bolden-Morris (UM GA, older sister of Mike Morris) on the Athletic (free)
Great read. I knew about her (how could you not after all the pub early in the season), but learned some new things (e.g., she volunteered with the GU football team in order to prep for her job at UM).
https://theathletic.com/3892952/2022/11/15/michigan-mimi-bolden-morris/
At the edge of the Florida Everglades, the black soil of Muck City is known for producing two things: football players and sugar cane.
The small communities of Pahokee and Belle Glade have a reputation for producing more NFL players per capita than any other region in the country. The place has inspired books, documentaries and the dreams of countless kids trying to be Muck City’s next All-American.
In that fertile soil, a seed took root. It started on Saturdays as parents gathered to watch Muck City’s next generation of football stars play youth league football. The coach, a former offensive lineman at Florida State, had a son on the team. The field was full of promising young players, but the real show happened at halftime, when the kid passing out water picked up a football and stepped onto the field.
As the crowd looked on in amazement, the kid started firing passes to the coach: 10 yards at first, then 20, all the way out to 50 or 60. Even as the ball stung his hands, the coach knew that, unlike his son and the other boys on the team, this player wouldn’t have the chance to become a football star. There would be no Friday night lights and no football offers, and one day he’d have to explain why.
The player was his daughter.
November 15th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
Good on her. Hope she ascends to all her goals. And good on Harbaugh and the team as well. Good stuff.
November 15th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
unlike his son and the other boys on the team, this player wouldn’t have the chance to become a football star. There would be no Friday night lights and no football offers, and one day he’d have to explain why.
Why is this? Because she's female? Girls play football all the time including my 12-year old daughter now.
Wonder what would have prevented her from THAT particular goal.
November 15th, 2022 at 4:44 PM ^
Doesn’t seem too far fetched that a guy didn’t want his daughter playing around grown ass men in high school. I took it as, she would never see Friday night lights as a high school QB, because she wouldn’t. Sure, she could have been on the team. But she would have never seen any meaningful time to throw a 60 yard bomb. I’m assuming you read this very differently?
November 16th, 2022 at 1:37 PM ^
Sure, she could have been on the team. But she would have never seen any meaningful time to throw a 60 yard bomb.
You know this, how? If you read the above she was considered an elite athlete putting on a show at halftime.
Who is to know whether or not she would have been able to play QB at the high school level? Or ANY other position? Nothing in the quote I shared said specifically playing QB. It said she'd never play under the lights.
And sure, maybe her dad didn't want her playing against "grown ass men in High School". The article doesn't go into that, so I wondered what specifically was holding her back. Your speculation could very well be true, but it is just that...speculation.
November 16th, 2022 at 5:08 PM ^
I mean, for sure, it’s speculation. But the article also doesn’t mention tearing an ACL or some other sort of medical issue holding her back. So, there is probably only a couple avenues to speculate on. The MOST plausible one being, she probably wouldn’t have been ELITE enough to play meaningful time at QB or ANY position for a high school team in Florida because she’s a girl. There isn’t anything wrong with being a girl who can throw a football 60 yards that still isn’t good enough to play meaningful snaps in a varsity football game. Dudes are straight up savages on the football field, some play every game like their whole livelihood depends on it. I’m not putting any of my daughters up against competition and aggression like that.
November 15th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
Not free to me.
November 15th, 2022 at 1:15 PM ^
The Athletic is strange this way - sometimes I can access without subscription, sometimes I can't. I've had luck searching Google News for the article titl, and clicking the article there - for whatever reason I can usually read there without a subscription. Should say that most of the folks who pay to subscribe say it's well worth it, and I generally support paying for good content, but if you just have an interest in a single article here and there, you can usually work around with the above. And who knows, it may interest you enough to subscribe
November 15th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
I think you get a certain number of free articles per day if you use the Athletic app.
November 15th, 2022 at 5:34 PM ^
I don't pay for subscriptions hardly ever. I do for The Athletic because they are often posting well written human interest stories. Like this one. What a cool story. I would have never known about Mimi Bolden Morris, or her parents, or, for that matter, the very important family element that makes Mike Morris who he is. Very impressive people.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Huh. I don't have an account or subscription or anything and it was free for me. I didn't notice any "1 of 3 free articles remaining" notification or anything, but maybe I missed it. Just popped up in my Google news feed.
November 15th, 2022 at 1:06 PM ^
Harbaugh has continued to make excellent staff hires, taking gambles on candidates that some people might raise an eyebrow due to perceived inexperience for the position they were hired. Most of them have worked out time and time again (Matt Weiss, Sherone Moore, Josh Gattis, Mike MacDonald, Grant Newsome, Ron Bellamy, Chris Partridge, Jay Harbaugh)
But we should remember to take a look back at how Mimi may have been the most scrutinized GA hire in Michigan football history (I doubt the majority of people can even name more than a few GAs who have been on the Michigan staff the last decade) because she was a woman. Hell, her hiring as a GA may have been more scrutinized than some position coach hirings.
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/harbaugh-hires-first-female-ga-power-5-level
November 15th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
I'd wager she'll be the first female hc of a college/pro team. Good on Michigan to recognize talent.
November 15th, 2022 at 1:30 PM ^
When I was a kid, I didn't want to be a princess or play house; I wanted to show the boys that I could catch the football and be the fastest girl to run the 50 yard dash. Some girls/women have the same aspirations as men. My generation generally didn't encourage girls to follow those kinds of dreams -- at least people in my family didn't. But I was lucky to have a stepfather who treated me like a male when it came to career. Men and women were no different in that respect. I hope the times are changing, and women who are qualified are given the same opportunity as men to prove that they can do the job.
November 15th, 2022 at 4:25 PM ^
But I was lucky to have a stepfather who treated me like a male when it came to career.
This part is awesome, and is something I try to instill overall with my 12-year old step-daughter.
I tell her she can do ANYTHING a guy can do, and often do it BETTER!
November 15th, 2022 at 2:05 PM ^
Good for her and good for Harbaugh. I feel like I know more about her than Mike Morris. Lol.
November 15th, 2022 at 2:31 PM ^
A CFP appearance and national championship will be excellent credentials for her resume!
November 15th, 2022 at 3:10 PM ^
Mimi >> Shoop
November 15th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
The Athletic seemingly hired every talented sports journalist, always refreshing reading good writing
November 15th, 2022 at 5:24 PM ^
I want to see her throw a football. Sounds as if she's got quite an arm.
November 15th, 2022 at 9:12 PM ^
I find her stunningly attractive.