TEMPE, Ariz. -- Former Arizona Cardinals coaching intern Jen Welter will spend the first weekend of the regular season in Las Vegas.
Welter, the NFL's first female coach, accepted an invitation from boxer Floyd Mayweather to watch what is expected to be his final career bout against Andre Berto on Sept. 12, as well as the weigh-in the day before.
Welter called it "cool" to be part of the event.
"I think it's a phenomenal gesture on his part," she said. "Why would I want to turn that down?"
Welter confirmed her plan to attend the fight and thanked Mayweather for the invitation on Twitter.
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, 2015TMZ first reported Mayweather's offer and suggested Welter could walk to the ring with the unbeaten champion, who was stripped of his WBO title in July for failing to comply with the organization's rules. However, Welter said no plans besides her attending have been set yet.
Welter's acceptance of the invitation, meanwhile, drew criticism because of Mayweather's history of domestic violence.
Almost immediately after posting her tweet, Welter began receiving negative responses, to which she tweeted:
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, 2015In an interview earlier this week, Welter suggested that hiring female coaches would help solve the NFL's domestic violence problem.
"We put them up as role models so people are watching, and for good or for bad, there's an opportunity to deal with this," Welter told Yahoo!'s Katie Couric. "I think if you saw the reaction that maybe my players had to having a female coach and loving it, maybe there's a need for more of that.
"You have an opportunity to make them better men and not just better football players, and ultimately that is the goal."
