Photo:Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Diana Flores is known for her quick feet and stealth passes as the quarterback for the Mexico Women’s National Flag Football Team.
“During my journey, I have to say that I learned the power of ‘No,’ since the first time [I played],” Flores tells PEOPLE exclusively. “‘No, you cannot play this sport. This is not for girls. No, you’re too short.’ Even when I was at the national team level, at the biggest level, I’ve heard, like, ‘No, you cannot play quarterback because you don’t look like quarterback.’”
She adds, “And one thing that has helped me to overcome this power of ‘No,’ and embrace it to become better, is having my family, that has always pushed me and has always encouraged me to keep going against all these No’s, and against all the people that didn’t believe in me.”
“The power of No'” has inspired one of the world’s most talented players — who stands all of 5 feet 1 inch tall — to have one of the greatest impacts on her sport’s evolution.
Flores began playing flag football as an 8-year-old in Mexico City. With a dad who formerly played tackle football in high school and college, the younger Flores was drawn to the sport, and was soon playing with girls who were twice her age.
“It was a great experience,” she recalls. “ And I think that was an experience that helped me to mature a lot, not only as an athlete, but as a person. Also, it taught me to look on my strengths rather than to look on what I didn’t have.”
She adds, “And that’s a lesson that I’ve held until now.”
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Flash forward 17 years, and Flores is flourishing on the field.
Earlier this year, she starred in “Run With It,” the NFL’s ad campaign during Super Bowl LVII, where she is shown eluding reporterErin Andrews, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiverDavante Adamsand New York Jets cornerbackSauce Gardner— among others — in an action-packed spot that put the spotlight squarely on Flores’ talent.
NFL
At this year’s NFL Pro Bowl, Flores served as the offensive coordinator for the AFC alongside head coachPeyton Manning.
“That was like a dream come true,” she says. “I mean, a lot of things that had happened, to be honest, the Pro Bowl, the commercial. Sometimes, when people ask me, ‘How is it to live the dream or live your dream, see your dream come to reality?' I don’t know how to answer that, because this was not even my dream. I didn’t know that all of this was even possible.”
Now, while Flores, her teammates and others in the sport worldwideawait a possible announcement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)about whether flag football will become an Olympic sport in 2028, the superstar is keeping an even keel about it all.
“I feel that my mission is to keep opening doors for girls and women, not only on the field, not only in sports, but out of sports, and to keep opening new paths for them to achieve their dreams and whatever they want," Flores says.
She adds, “So for me to now have this platform and have a voice to represent women and to represent the Latino community, it is so important because I’ve learned in a good way, in an amazing way, that representation matters. So to keep being that seed somehow of inspiration and motivation is something that also motivates me to keep going.”
source: people.com
