Darrell Doucette on Olympic flag football: 'Flag guys deserve their opportunity'
The NFL voted unanimously to allow its players to participate in Olympic flag football in 2028.
Flag football star Darrell Doucette III is welcoming competition for roster spots but is hoping he and his peers won't be pushed out of the Olympic picture entirely.
"The flag guys deserve their opportunity. That’s all we want," Doucette told the Washington Post. "We felt like we worked hard to get the sport to where it’s at, and then when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we were getting kicked to the side. I felt like I was the guy who could speak out for my peers, for my brothers that’s been working hard to get to this level, for us not to be forgotten."
Doucette first made headlines during the summer of 2024 when he proclaimed he would be "better than Patrick Mahomes" at flag football because of his "IQ of the game."
"I know he’s right now the best in the league, I know he’s more accurate, I know he has all these intangibles, but when it comes to flag football, I feel like I know more than him," Doucette said at the time.
His proclamation drew the ire of NFL fans and players alike. Mahomes responded to Doucette's comments with a GIF of rapper 50 Cent appearing confused.
Even so, Doucette has continued to insist the players' transition from the NFL to flag football may not be as easy as many are anticipating.
"It’s entirely two different games," Doucette told the Washington Post. "You can’t really compare flag football and tackle football."
Notably, Doucette believes the difference in physicality between the two games would mark a tough adjustment for NFL players. Additionally, he isn't sure whether NFL players could quickly and instictively learn the moves flag football players use to avoid having their flags ripped off during play.
"These are things that we practice and we work on to become great," Doucette said. "Those guys, they don’t understand it yet."
The NFL has promised a "tryout or qualification process" to determine which of its players could draw consideration for the Olympic flag football roster. Meanwhile, USA Football – the governing body that oversees U.S. Olympic flag football – praised the NFL's decision while noting the player pool already included "prominent flag football stars who have helped USA Football establish a gold-medal standard in international competition."
While Doucette remains steadfast perennial flag football players should comprise most of the roster, he made it known he would be pulling for his country regardless of who makes the team.
"This is a sport that we’ve played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don’t need other guys," Doucette said. "But we all have one goal in mind, and that’s to represent our country. We’re definitely open to all competition. If those guys come in and ball out and they’re better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country."