--- title: "Lads Force Waymo to Play Football" description: "A couple of sports influencers took to the streets to see if Waymo would jump offsides with the game on the line." date: "2026-06-06" modified: "2026-06-06" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/sports-influencers-waymo-play-football" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" --- # Lads Force Waymo to Play Football ![A screenshot featuring two young men in football uniforms attempting to play football with a Waymo.]() *Gauntent via Instagram* A pair of sports influencers just presented Waymo with its latest test: will it jump the gun on a [critical snap]()? The two set up in front of the Waymo in a typical football formation, in an attempt to bait the robotaxi into [jumping offsides]() with a [tricky cadence](). (In American football, offside is an infraction that occurs when a defensive player crosses the [line of scrimmage]() before the ball is in play.) The Waymo shows elite discipline at the line, refusing to budge even as the clock runs down, forcing the boys to call time. To be clear, the Waymo doesn't exactly participate; it just sits there like it's supposed to do when it comes face-to-face with a human. https://www.instagram.com/p/DY78fhZPJnV/ Still, it's a good bit given that the Waymo *could* start rolling despite the humans in front of it, which happens much more often than you might think. As a scathing [*CNN* analysis]() of Waymo's safety history found, there have been hundreds of incidents in which the robotaxis have run red lights, driven into oncoming traffic or active emergency scenes, or come to a screeching halt within inches of a pedestrian. "These are the early warning indicators that all is not well... that's how companies need to treat them. That's how regulators should treat them," University of South Carolina law and technology scholar Bryant Walker Smith told *CNN*. "This is the story of progress... we replace one set of problems with a new set of problems." After a wayward Waymo [delayed emergency workers]() responding to a mass shooting in Austin back in March, Paige Ellis, a member of the Austin City Council, said the "question is not if this is going to turn into a deadly situation for someone, but when." Waymo has consistently defended its safety record, though has recently issued a [national recall]() in reaction to their vehicles' handling of floods in Austin. "No technology is perfect," Waymo told *CNN* in a statement, "but while human drivers can only learn from their individual experiences, Waymo takes community feedback and applies those safety learnings to our entire fleet." **More on Waymo:** *[Waymo Has a Bike Lane Problem]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()