Lingerie Football League Won't Play at Family Arena

The Lingerie Football League won't be playing in St. Charles in 2013. 

The league, a a women's 7-on-7 tackle football league with franchises currently in 12 cities, it would play two home games at the . However, the league failed to reach an agreement over terms of use that was acceptable to St. Charles County government. 

“We owe it to the taxpayers to look at every event, and that’s what we did withthis,” County Executive Steve Ehlmann said in a press release. “We did our due diligence and talked with the ownership. In the end, we just felt it wasn’t a good fit and didn’t make sense from a business,or a public relations, standpoint.”

A three-person committee decided that the league didn't violate an arena policy barring events that advocate sexual depravity and violence against certain people. 

“The administration is committed to bringing family entertainment to the building," Ehlmann said. "But just because it is called the 'Family Arena,' that does not mean that every event there is suitable for every member of the family. We’ve had Bill Maher and Dennis Miller there, and I wouldn’t recommend their acts for children.”

League owners are in talks with other facilities in the area, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Tryouts Held Sunday

The League came to town on Sunday looking for players, and about 75 St. Louis area women showed up to play at Vetta Sports, in Concord. 

There was no lingerie to be seen. The women wore sports bras, tank tops, athletics shorts as they ran pass patterns, caught the ball, fought through blocks and hit a tackling dummy on the fly like it wasn’t their first time. Several said they’ve played before.

“I used to play football with my cousin when I was younger,” Tish McMiller, 31, of Florissant, said. “The whole lingerie thing, and catching a ball and running is just a psyche to me.”

“Come in, show up and show off,” McMiller said.

Jelisa Riddlespriger, also of Florissant, said she’s happy women can finally play football.

“Lingerie football is the way to go,” she said. “I’ve played touch football with my boyfriend and his friends sometimes. I played powder-puff, ran track, played basketball. This is what I want to do.”

Any Gamblin, of Shrewsbury, said she used to play with her brother and his buddies.

“I’ve always wanted to play football,” she said.

Evan Zalders, of Belleville, IL, via Webster Groves, and Bret Morrell of Belleville sat watching their respective girlfriends try out.

He said their girlfriends were nervous before the tryouts, but seemed to be having fun.

“It’s a good idea,” Zalders said. “Probably a lot of guys had this idea, just joking around, then some guy said, I’ll do it for real and make a ton of money.”