Johnson’s gridiron dream a reality

"I want to be one of the pioneers of making this happen across the country. I want to convince people how much this would benefit so many girls who play this sport and love it as much as I do."

- Nikki Johnson, 2008

The YouTube clip lasts only 24 seconds but has nearly 6 million views. Nikki Johnson doesn't just cross the goal line. She lowers a shoulder and blows up a defensive player named Devine Burton from Saskatchewan to Toronto and several other Canadian cities beyond.

The only thing lingerie about the play are the uniforms. "Without football," Johnson said, "I'm not happy."

I first spoke to her four years ago, when Johnson was one of 10 prep females asked by the NFL to develop girls flag football at high schools across the country, to help push for its inclusion as an interscholastic sport in states such as Nevada.

It never happened while Johnson was attending Silverado, or while she was leading a coed youth flag team to three national finals in Orlando, Fla., or all those years she was tearing up the Henderson Flag Football League.

It has now.

Flag football will be offered as a varsity sport in public schools this winter as a way for the Clark County School District to further comply with federal gender equity requirements.

Nikki Johnson got her wish.

She was a pioneer.

"It's about time," she said. "We worked so hard to make it happen, wanting it so badly for all the girls out there who love football and are competitive. Flag football is huge in Las Vegas for females. To think we might have had something to do with it becoming a (varsity sport) makes me really proud. I would want to thank everyone who played a part in it.

"Making it a winter sport is perfect. It's after the tackle season for boys, and girls who are interested can take time, watch the boys' game and have something to base their own game on. Putting it in the winter will hopefully get it the attention it deserves."

Flag football for girls is one answer to a civil rights complaint filed against the district in 2010 by the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., for allegedly violating Title IX requirements. Clark County has a disproportionate percentage of male prep athletes to female when it comes to following the law.

An easy answer to close the gap: Add female sports.

It helps the district adhere to Title IX numbers and yet, in the spirit of the legislation, is a dead end. There are no scholarships offered for flag football. It is played only at the club and intramural levels in college.

But it's a start, one Johnson never experienced as one of the best prep flag players nationally. She is 21, quarterback for the Las Vegas Sin and awaiting another lingerie spring season by playing for the Regina Rage in Canada this fall. Her YouTube touchdown/destruction clip went viral overnight. She made the Top 10 plays on "SportsCenter." It's all tackle for her now, be it in 11-on-11 leagues or 7-on-7 with her lingerie teammates.

She's living her dream.

I have never spoken with someone more passionate about football and opening doors of opportunity for women through it. Johnson recently spent time as an intern for NFL Films, the New Jersey-based company that produces commercials, documentaries, television programs and feature films on and about the league.

There, she worked on "NFL Matchup," a weekly show that breaks down games by using team-supplied film. Johnson was a production assistant gathering statistics and researching facts and providing any other numbers or trends hosts such as Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge needed to make a point.

"Once in a lifetime experience," she said. "The best thing I could have done for myself when it comes to football. It was football every day, all day for six months."

She is pursuing a degree in project management from DeVry University with the goal of one day working in operations for an NFL team or perhaps a clothing company such as Under Armor.

Whatever the avenue, it will include the game.

Check out the YouTube clip. Johnson runs a sweep left, cuts back and charges ahead. Earlier in the game, Burton had taken a cheap shot to Johnson's head while the quarterback was on the turf covering up a bad snap.

This time, Burton decided to meet Johnson at the goal line.

Bad idea.

"I gave her a good crack," Johnson said.

Pioneers are tough this way.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.