Meet the Philly native who got a pick-six on Jalen Hurts in Fanatics’ Flag Football Classic — and has eyes on the 2028 Olympics
“That moment meant a lot to me ... The fact that it came from someone from Philly that everybody looks up to, it was fun,” said Imhotep grad Aamir Brown. “I was smiling from ear-to-ear.”
With his Founders trailing by three touchdowns in the second half of the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts lined up under center on first down. Hurts took the snap and set his sights on Alvin Kamara. But before the ball reached the New Orleans Saints running back, Team USA defensive back Aamir Brown jumped in front of Kamara, intercepted the pass, and ran it back for a pick-six.
“There was a lot of movement going on,” Brown said. “But during that play, I basically trusted my teammates. Once I saw [Hurts] ready to release and I was able to break on the ball, I had a feeling that I was going to make a good play.”
What made the moment even more special for the Philadelphia native was having his two-year-old daughter, Sarai, in the crowd to witness it.
“That moment meant a lot to me,” Brown said. “I had my daughter watching the game. So she had me jumping up and down, and then I had my family back home screaming and yelling. The fact that it came from someone from Philly that everybody looks up to, it was fun. I was smiling from ear-to-ear.”
The 27-year-old has been part of the U.S. men’s national flag football team since 2022, winning four International Federation of America Football sanctioned gold medals. So far this year, Team USA has won two exhibition events: the USA vs. Mexico Flag Football Showcase in February and the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, where Brown shared the field with Hurts and Eagles teammates DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley.
“During the game, Saquon got me with a little move, but he dropped the ball and we were talking about it,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, you got me. But you got to catch the ball.’ It was just a laughing joke in battle. That’s when we started talking about being from Philly.”
» READ MORE: From 2022: Flag football in the Olympics? Team USA’s gold medal showing at the World Games had a Philly influence
Brown played football at Imhotep Charter as part of the 2015 team that finished with a perfect 15-0 record, becoming the first public school from Philadelphia to win a state football crown. He continued his football career at Valley Forge Military Academy in 2018.
Brown credits his success to the city that made him.
“Growing up in Philly, it brings the dog out of you because you had to have tough skin,” Brown said. “You had to take crucial criticism from either opponents or your coach to get you better.”
And when Brown transitioned to flag football, he continued to accept “crucial criticism” from former teammate Bruce Mapp.
Mapp, who is also from Philly, similarly made the transition from tackle football to flag. Coastal Carolina’s Hall of Fame wide receiver went undefeated during his four-year U.S. national team career (2021-24), collecting four gold medals in the process.
» READ MORE: How girls’ flag football became a sanctioned sport in Pa. and what it means
“When I was out there, he showed me all of the equipment moves that don’t work,” Brown said. “They told me how to get hit, get booster hits, and I had to get my hand-eye coordination better for pulling the flag.”
The U.S. men’s national flag football team has won five consecutive IFAF Flag Football World Championships and has its eyes set on a sixth consecutive title. Brown, along with nearly two dozen other players to make the initial roster, is preparing to head into a pair of training camps — from April 16-19 and from May 21-24 — at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in California.
After the second camp, a selection committee consisting of coaches, scouts, and U.S. Football personnel will choose 18 athletes for a third training camp in June. Then, USA Football will name the 2026 alternates and 12-athlete rosters for the Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany, from Aug. 13-16.
“This year was the most competitive trials process USA Football has ever seen. The growing interest in flag football ahead of its Olympic debut is driving elite athletes from across the country to pursue the sport,” Callie Brownson of USA Football said in a statement.
» READ MORE: NCAA takes a step toward adding flag football by including it in its Emerging Sports for Women program
Since 2015, there has been a 38% increase in participation in flag football among boys and girls between 6 and 12 years old, according to NFL Flag. Even high schools are acknowledging the sport. Girls’ flag football is sanctioned as a varsity sport in 17 states, including Pennsylvania.
“Now, I got a lot of people looking up to me,” Brown said. “I won’t give up on the sport I love. And I can tell my daughter the stuff that I did and let her know I never gave up on the sport. And hopefully I can get her to that stage when she gets older.”
With flag football set to make its Olympic debut in 2028, Brown is expecting to see even more young talent develop onto the scene. He also hopes that he can be a part of the country’s first Olympic flag football team.
“Year after year I see new and better talent,” Brown said. “People are just getting better from last year. You see people transitioning from equipment to flag and they’re showing some crazy athleticism, showing that they understand the game fast. The game is just getting better every year.”
