Jen Welter. PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES: Jen Welter, who blazed a trail for women as a coaching intern with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, confirmed Friday she's accepted Floyd Mayweather's invitation to his fight against Andre Berto.
"Yes the rumors are true," Welter tweeted after TMZ reported Mayweather's invitation.
"Looking forward to seeing money in action. Thanks FloydMayweather and MayweatherPromo."
Yes the rumors are true. Looking forward to seeing money in action. Thanks @FloydMayweather @MayweatherPromo pic.twitter.com/Z94I9qeDvY
— Dr. Jen Welter (@jwelter47) September 4, 2015
Unbeaten Mayweather is looking to take his record to 49-0 on September 12 in Las Vegas, in what he vows will be his last fight.
Read: Floyd Mayweather,'The Best Ever', prepares to hang up gloves
But Welter's acceptance of the invite drew some criticism because of Mayweather's history of domestic violence.
"So you would prefer I prejudge from a distance?" she responded on Twitter. "I consider the invitation from FloydMayweather a positive step."
So you would prefer I prejudge from a distance? I consider the invitation from @FloydMayweather a positive step. https://t.co/kiZboFofBK
— Dr. Jen Welter (@jwelter47) September 4, 2015
Welter, a former rugby and professional gridiron player who owns graduate degrees in psychology, became the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL when the Cardinals hired her to work with inside linebackers during training camp and the pre-season.
As her internship was winding down, Welter suggested in an interview with Yahoo's Katie Couric that having women coaches in the NFL could help address the problem of domestic violence by NFL players.
"You have an opportunity to make them better men, and not just better football players, and ultimately that is the goal," she said.
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