Female linebacker inspires other young girls

theGRIO REPORT - Aminah Barrett is only one of the seven girls in the city of Houston that plays football with boys...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Aminah Barrett is only one of the seven girls in the city of Houston that plays football with boys. She attends Twin Creeks Middle School.

The eighth grader receives solid A and B grades and has been playing since the fourth grade.

“I like playing linebacker,” Aminah told KMOV St Louis. “I like to hit people and be aggressive.” Aminah is also a running back.

When her teammate Colton Mangum saw a girl with them while they were getting their pads, he thought, “‘Oh, okay so this is different.’”

But it’s not that different in her family, her mom played in the Women’s Football League in Louisiana.

“I love her and I’m very proud of her, very proud of her,” said her mother, Mika Frizzell.

Twin Creeks Middle School Coach Chris Brice is not letting any of the boys go easy on her either.

“Our kids go hard with her and that way she gets the full experience … Speed agility drills, weight room work. Absolutely, I see no reason why any female couldn’t do it,” he said.

Brandon Peralta, a wide receiver, told KMOV he was surprised by how good she was.

“When she came out and I saw her play I was like, ‘Okay, we got a good girl on our team,'” he said.

Aminah hasn’t decided how far she wants to take football but her advice to other girls is, “Never let anyone ever tell you that you can’t. If this is something that you want to do, you work hard. You put your mind to it. Never give up.”

Click here to watch video of Aminah in action.

Follow Similoluwa Ojurongbe on Twitter and simioju.com

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