Will Birmingham play in the Freedom Football League?
December 6, 2018
The formation of a new spring professional football league was announced today,
the Freedom Football League. Birmingham was one of the 10 cities named that will
receive inaugural franchises.
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Freedom Football League
co-founder Ricky Williams
The league is the result of over 50 former National Football League players
joining 50 other investors. Most notable of the former players is Ricky
Williams, Terrell Owens, Jeff Garcia, and Simeon Rice.
The Birmingham Kings will be joined by the San Diego Warriors, Oklahoma City
Power, Portland Progress, Texas Revolution, Ohio Players, Florida Strong, St.
Louis Independence, Connecticut Underground, and Oakland Panthers.
The FFL's goal will be to reimage, rethink, reinvent and reform the game.
According the Williams, "The purpose of this league is about community and the
development of players. In thinking about creating this league, I wanted to
create a league that I could have stayed in and been comfortable and really
thrived. The NFL started a long time ago, and since then a lot of things have
changed. And we want to create a league that's ready for that change and invite
some more of it."
The FFL says its mission is "to attract football players at their highest level
of athletic ability, including those defecting from the NFL, graduating college
or high school or playing in international or alternative professional football
leagues." The players would receive "permanent and reliable holistic health and
wellness support on and off the field."
In addition, the league said it would encourage athletes to address societal
challenges and other "hot button" issues. "We're trying to develop young men.
You can't take away their voice and expect them to develop. When I grew up
watching football, I really wanted to be like Jim Brown, not because of what he
did on a field, but because he could take that platform and have a voice. And
so, when I got to the NFL, expecting that to be the case, anytime a big social
issue came up, we were told, 'Be quiet... It's a distraction.' And so, really,
[we're] changing the conversation," Williams said.
The league said it would be financed through a combination of private funding
and public offerings in 2019, meaning fans would be "true owners and
legally-committed business partners."
No timetable for the league's first season was given.
