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Sam Rapoport loves football, eager to create societal change for NFL | On Her Turf | NBC Sports
Sam Rapoport
Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National Football League
- Dedicated 22 seasons to football, focusing on expanding access and opportunities for girls and women in the sport
- Her efforts at the NFL, since 2017, have led to the hiring of over 250 women in football roles, making the NFL a leader in gender diversity among male professional sports leagues
- Rapoport's transformative work has sparked a positive movement for women in sports, earning her recognition and awards from various prestigious organizations and publications
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Sam Rapoport has spent 22 seasons working in football, dedicating her career to expanding access and opportunity for girls and women across the game.
Rapoport has spearheaded significant efforts to advance the NFL’s progress toward building a diverse and inclusive League. Most notably, since 2017 her work to empower and establish women in football has resulted in the of hiring more than 250 women into football roles league-wide and has positioned the NFL as a sports industry leader, with more women coaches than any other male professional sports league.
The success of Rapoport’s transformative efforts at the NFL has catalyzed a movement for women in sports — one that stands to have a hugely positive impact on the industry.
Rapoport is a host of the NFL’s groundbreaking podcast called “Earnin’ It: The NFL’s Forward Progress” with iHeart Radio and has recently appeared as a guest on Pat McAfee Show, Up & Adams with Kay Adams and was featured on the TODAY Show on NBC.
Rapoport was recently named one of Sports Illustrated‘s Most Powerful, Most Influential, and Most Outstanding Women in Sports, Sports Business Journal’s 2023 Game Changers and Adweek’s 2023 Champions of Change. She was also awarded the NFL Commissioner’s Award selected by Commissioner Roger Goodell, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, Outsports’ Hero of the Year, and was recently named one of People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing the World.
Rapoport has played football since the age of 14 as quarterback of several women’s tackle and flag football teams. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada and resides with her wife, Rebecca, and their young children, Jordy and Tobin in the New York area.
Speaker Video
How Sam Rapoport Turned Her Love For The NFL Into An Impactful Career | Top of HER Game
Breaking the Grass Ceiling: How the Face of the NFL Is Forever Changed
Sam provides the blueprint for how the NFL went from no women in coaching, scouting, and officiating positions to rapid progress and record numbers. In 2024, the NFL now has more women in coaching roles than any other male professional sports league in the world.
Sam provides 5 key “sticky” takeaways that an organization can use to create change in any space of the business.
These strategies can be implemented to help any organization drive change. The audience will:
- Ignite their passion to identify opportunities, and create change
- Learn how the NFL achieved progress in such a short timeline
- Learn how to apply these principles in your organization
- Leave the session feeling inspired – like you could run through a brick wall
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