Hnida has just written a book entitled Still Kicking: My Dramatic Journey As the First Woman to Play Division One College Football; she's pictured here at a recent signing event. As the tome's title implies, she's keen to focus on her success at breaking the gender barrier for the Buffs and the New Mexico Lobos, a team she joined after fleeing Boulder and then-Coach Gary Barnett, who'd dismissed her footwork as "terrible." But during her November 28 appearance (she was second on the bill, after Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson), King tossed out a bare handful of preliminary questions before zeroing in on the rape accusation with inquiries like "Why did you not identify the perpetrator?"
Rather than showing frustration, Hnida replied with practiced aplomb. She comes from a media-savvy family -- her father is Dr. Dave Hnida, a regular on Channel 4 -- and she's gotten plenty of practice dealing with folks like King in recent years. (She hit the Today show on her book tour, too.) Hence, she understands how important appearances are, and on this night, she looked as if a team of professional stylists had made her camera-ready. The contrast between her current image and earlier footage of her in Lobos gear was striking, and you can bet broadcast execs noticed.
When King asked her what she planned to do in the future, she noted that she lives in New York now, adding, "My future plans are wide open." That likely means she'd eagerly entertain TV job offers, and there's a good chance some will come her way -- thanks in part to Colorado-loving Larry. -- Michael Roberts
