This is one of a series of articles that will also appear in the New York Jets 2024 Yearbook, which will be published later this summer.
Over the past four years, the New York Jets have been at the forefront of developing girls' high school flag football in New Jersey and New York, culminating in flag football being sanctioned as an official state championship sport in New York State this spring.
As part of an effort to continue expanding the sport with an emphasis on inclusion, the Jets also partnered with Special Olympics New Jersey to launch northern New Jersey's first integrated high school flag football league this spring. The league wrapped up its inaugural season in May with four high schools: Morris Knolls, Morristown, Roxbury and West Orange.
“This speaks to the Jets organization and how they reach out to the community and try to make a difference through sports,” West Orange athletic director Stephen Zichera said. “We're so excited that the Jets are reaching out to those with special needs and giving them this experience. This makes a big difference.”
Each team in the league had between 15 and 30 players, with a ratio of unified players to unified partners of approximately 2 to 1. Teams played a six-game regular season over a six-week period leading up to the playoffs.
The Jets provide significant financial support to each team, including providing flag belts and uniforms, transportation to games and events, and helping to hire part-time coaches and other staff for each team.
The league's short-term goal is to gain enough popularity among northern New Jersey high schools to encourage neighboring schools to join in. In the long term, the Jets would like to make Unified Flag Football a sport sanctioned by the New Jersey High School Athletic Association.
“The Jets are honored to contribute to the growth and development of New Jersey Unified Flag Football,” said Jesse Linder, vice president of community relations. “It's been a total organization effort to make this league a reality, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for our players and coaches.”
“That's probably one of the proudest things I've ever experienced here,” team president Haimy El-Hai said of the Jets' role in the Unified League. “And to be able to give that opportunity to people who didn't get that opportunity, what else could you want? That's the beauty of football. Football can actually contribute so much to people's growth and development. It's just a beautiful thing to watch.”
