Griffin Greenberg is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — Sierra Linda running back Kevin Tortolero grew up playing soccer but it didn't take him long to change his allegiances to football.

He fell in love with the sport and quickly learned that many in his Hispanic and Latino community in Phoenix felt the same way about football.

“I know there’s a bunch of football leagues in Mexico. There aren't a lot of coaches or players [in the NFL] but hopefully soon in the future I see more or I become one of those people to become a coach or player in the NFL,” Tortolero said.

One of those players is Kevin Tortolero. Tortolero is the team’s running back averaging over 50 rushing yards per game this season, having an increased role with last year’s starter graduating.

Tortolero is just a junior and has another season in the backfield to try to gain more interest from colleges, the first step on a journey to professional football. But it won’t be easy.

According to the 2021 Racial and Gender Report Card from The Institute For Diversity And Ethics In Sport, the NFL had just 12 Hispanic or Latino players – that’s equal to 0.7 perecent of all players – and just one head coach.

Angel Melendez, a wide receiver for Sierra Linda who also fell in love with the game of football as a kid, doesn’t think Hispanic and Latino football players get much respect.

“We’re slept on because a bunch of people don’t really think we’re athletes. [In their eyes], you think of a Hispanic and you think he plays soccer, works construction, but yeah, we’re athletes,” he said.

Melendez looks up to Odell Beckham Jr., trying to implement his work ethic and mentality into his own game, because there there aren’t many NFL Hispanic players, he pointed out. He talks about how media saw Sierra Linda as not being worth covering and how the Bulldogs are the underdogs, which can also be seen as a contributor to why Hispanic football players may not get the attention they deserve.

Bulldogs’ kicker Jose Garcia grew up in Zacatecas, Mexico, before moving to the United States when he was 9 years old. Garcia is a freshman and actually didn’t get to play soccer like Tortolero and Melendez did when he came to the United States.

“I didn’t know any English and I had to learn. My school was a small school and we didn’t have a soccer team, so I started playing football,” Garcia said.

Garcia plans to play soccer throughout his high school career. He enjoys that it’s a team game, which sparked his interested in the sport.

The game of football means a lot to these kids and the other 30 million Hispanic or Latino NFL fans in the United States. They know how much it means to them and other Hispanic and Latinos throughout the world.

All Tortolero wants is for young Hispanic and Latino football players to get an opportunity to show they can play just like everyone else.

“Football is really loved by the Latino community,” Tortolero said. “Just give them a chance. Whether it’s free agency or college, just give them a chance to play ball.”