FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A seventh-grade girl from New Hampshire who was bullied for playing quarterback on a youth football team is going to the Super Bowl courtesy of the New England Patriots.
Dejah Rondeau, of Exeter, who wears No. 11 in honor of her favorite player, Julian Edelman, was invited to Foxborough recently to meet Edelman and team owner Robert Kraft after the team learned of her experience.
7th grade quarterback Dejah Rondeau wears no. 11 in honor of @Edelman11.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 29, 2019
When he heard she was getting bullied at school, he had a #SuperBowlSurprise for her. pic.twitter.com/NVyhkfv8Hr
In a video posted on the team's website, Edelman played catch with her and surprised her with a pair of tickets.
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Dejah told Seacoastonline.com she was "super happy" and "never in a million years thought I would go to a Super Bowl."
She became starting QB for the Exeter Seahawks in Exeter, New Hampshire, last season after an injury forced the team's starter to the sidelines, according to Sports Illustrated.
“Some people don’t want to accept a female quarterback,” Rondeau’s mother, Nicole Brock, told Seacoastonline. “She’ll have to put in 110 percent where others put in 50.”
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She says she doesn't see the game in terms of gender, she just wants to be the best football player and teammate possible.
Associated Press
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