Hockey helmets and uniforms, which provide little coverage on the field, hang in the locker room before the Omaha Heart's opening game against the Atlanta Steam in Gwinnett, Ga., on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The Legends Football League, formerly the Lingerie Football League, has moved away from the implications of its former name, though the uniforms remain scant.
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The Lingerie Football League (now the Legends Football League) players say that they are athletes first. The lingerie is, in their minds, an unfortunate necessity. Many admitted that sex appeal was the reason fans attended the game, but talk to any woman who’s played, and you’ll learn that it’s no powder puff or flag football.
The players dedicate exhaustive effort, months of their time and thousands of dollars to a sport with little reward, to a league that takes more than it gives. Many players hope that one day the league won’t be about the sex appeal but instead a showcase for female athleticism.
“People can get the impression it’s just a bunch of bimbos out here,” Omaha Heart quarterback Linsey Noble said. “Everyone has their own story. You can’t really judge people by the cover, by the book or the lingerie.”
Chicago Freelance Photographer | Alyssa Schukar | Photojournalist