Garrett SimmonsLETHBRIDGE HERALD
Raelyn Callaway was walking out of Park Place mall Tuesday afternoon, minding her own business. With her trusty iPhone at work and her headphones on, she simply didn't notice trouble was lurking right behind her.
"I was just leaving the mall and I was texting and a guy came up behind me and grabbed my purse," she said, of the incident that occurred at the back of the mall near the Sport Chek location between 3-3:30 p.m.
The typical reaction for a 5'3," 110-pound woman might have been to shriek in horror, but Callaway isn't your typical young woman - she's a football player. So, the defensive back and wide receiver for the Lethbridge Steel did what any good player would do in a crucial situation - she made a game-saving tackle.
"I had just bought new lipstick, and I didn't want him to get away with it," said Callaway, who brought down the would-be thief with a textbook tackle.
"It was a clean, football tackle. I got a good wrap on him and put my arm below his waist. It was just a football tackle like in any game.
"She added she didn't know what was going on until the man, who she described as a Native American in his mid-20s, ran past her with her purse. She was in a dress and high heals at the time, and kicked off her shoes to engage in the pursuit.
"He took it right off my shoulder from behind and ran straight," said Callaway, who added her experience playing for the Steel was the only reason she took such drastic action.
"If I hadn't been playing football, I wouldn't have gone after him." Even after the would-be thief was down on the ground, Callaway had trouble wrapping her head around what had happened.
"Right away I thought, 'I can't believe what I just did.' I took off right away because I was afraid."She didn't report the incident to police, but did have a special message for the man who tried to rob her.
"He kept yelling at me that I broke his arm and he was swearing at me. I said, 'Don't steal my purse then.' Then I ran away."
Before she started playing football for the Steel in March, running away is likely what Callaway would have done in this circumstance in the past.
"I never would have thought about it," she said of going after a thief.
"I probably would have screamed and waited for some guy to come and help me."But football has given Callaway confidence not only on the field, but to tackle crime on the streets of Lethbridge.
"It makes me feel safer. I got my purse back."That purse contained a wide variety of personal items, along with her wallet, cash and makeup, all of which the thief will have to do without.
And now, Callaway can't wait to step on the field again, and take her aggression out on her fellow competitors in the Western Women's Canadian Football League, where the players she often comes up against aren't much smaller than the guy she took down earlier this week.
"In football, I hit girls literally twice my size, and I take them down."
It seems Callaway has taken her team's motto to heart, which reads - You're Tougher Than You Think.
She won't have to wait too long to put that motto to the test again, as the Steel are set to host the Edmonton Storm Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Herald photo by Ian Martens
