Reverse play! Jets make a stunning U-turn and will now let a superfan attempt the $100K field-goal challenge after bombshell Post report shakes things up.
It’s the ultimate comeback story.
The New York Jets will now allow a diehard Long Island fan to vie in a $100,000 kick-off contest at Sunday’s game — after The Post reported that she got booted from the challenge over a technicality.
The U-turn came as soccer coach Ashley Castanio-Gervasi — who fell in love with football because of her late father — received an outpouring of support from the sports world over the snub.
Ashley Castanio-Gervasi (right) received an outpouring of support from the sports world after the Jets snubbed her.
“We realized there was an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding Ashley’s eligibility for the contest. In an effort to remedy the situation, we are allowing her to kick this Sunday for an opportunity to win the prize,” the Jets said in a statement to The Post on Friday.
“We value the passion and loyalty of our fans and are committed to creating memorable experiences.”
Castanio-Gervasi, who also assists with basketball and badminton at Long Beach High School, was initially barred from the finals due to her being an active coach, The Post exclusively reported Thursday.
Sports media figures like former Jet Damien Woody, Jake Asman and fellow Gang Green diehards quickly turned her case into a trending topic on X.
“We realized there was an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding Ashley’s eligibility for the contest,” the Jets said in a statement — after The Post reported the snub.
Even California congressman Eric Swalwell called “bulls–t” on the sudden benching.
“They really rallied behind the purpose of why I wanted to kick, which was in honor of my dad,” Castanio-Gervasi, 33, told The Post on Friday — adding that her phone has been “blowing up” since Christmas Day, when her plight became public.
The former Stony Brook University goalie was first spotted by the Jets in September when team staff watched her impressively notch a previous field goal — just for kicks — at a game against the Buffalo Bills.
New York Post front page with headlines about the Jets rescinding Castanio-Gervasi’s field goal attempt and a Knicks comeback.
She then made a qualifying 20-yarder at a tailgate event during the Jets vs. Panthers game in October.
But on Monday, Castanio-Gervasi was suddenly told she could not compete in the on-field “Kick for Cash” contest at halftime of the upcoming Jets vs. Patriots game, she said.
Her college goalie days from 2010-2014 were not an issue, but the team said an insurance technicality stemming from her coaching gig made her ineligible for the competition.
Castanio-Gervasi said she was now excited to be given the opportunity to try for the prize Sunday at MetLife — especially to honor her dad, Frank, who died of esophageal cancer in 2011.
“The money is life-changing, and that would be amazing if I won,” she said, adding the $100,000 — from a partnership between the Jets and Hellmann’s Mayo — would go toward a house and cancer charity.
“But this meant more to my family and me because my dad would be proud and so excited,” she said.
Castanio-Gervasi inherited her often trying Jets fandom from Frank, who was a season ticket holder for the Super Bowl III champions since the team’s Shea Stadium days in the 1960s.
She and about 75 loved ones attend a group game each year in his honor and have raised over $50,000 for the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation.
The family seldom misses a game — no matter how miserable the weather or play — and initially boycotted and sold their Sunday tickets when she got snubbed. But now, at least 15 of Castanio-Gervasi’s kin will be there to back her during the Jets vs. Pats showdown, she said.
Prior to Castanio-Gervasi’s reinstatement, she said her dad would have ripped up his season tickets if he’d seen how she had been treated.
Now, the coach thinks he’d be relieved to know that his favorite team course-corrected — and, as a loyal Post reader, would be ecstatic that he was a focal point of the Friday paper’s cover story.
The Jets reversed their decision and will now let the diehard fan try to win $100,000 at MetLife this weekend.
“Just because a part of the organization kind of fumbled this one a little bit, doesn’t mean we can take it out on all the players and coaches,” said Castanio-Gervasi — adding she would still rather see the Jets win a Super Bowl than ace the kick.
Castanio-Gervasi, who used to play wide receiver as a little girl at Jets training camp at Hofstra University, had notched the qualifying kick in memory of her dad.
The family kept Frank’s love for the game — and seats in section 223 — where Castanio-Gervasi, with her three sisters, Lauren, Courtney, and Jacly,n and their mom, Lorraine, have sat week in and week out.
Ashley Castanio-Gervasi is supporting the Jets in a childhood photo.
Ashley Castanio-Gervasi (R) and her father Frank (L) in an undated childhood photo.
“It still brings us together as a family, and we love spending time together,” said Castanio-Gervasi, who ritualistically shares a pre-game meal with her loved ones at Franco’s Metro Restaurant in Fort Lee en route to the stadium.
This season, Castanio-Gervasi and her FDNY husband, Matthew, invested $3,000 for their own pair of seats two rows behind her family.
She estimates the Castanio clan, who travel to away games as well, has invested a conservative lifetime million on the Jets.
Castanio-Gervasi, who used to play wide receiver as a little girl at Jets training camp at Hofstra University, had notched the qualifying quick in memory of her dad.
Before getting scrubbed from the roster Monday, Castanio-Gervasi was nailing 25-yard practice field goals at Long Beach High School as her soccer players cheered on.
The kicking distance for the finals remains a mystery until the contest.
It will be no chip shot, though, as Castanio-Gervasi is recuperating from knee surgery on her non-kicking leg and is in physical therapy twice a week, including a Friday afternoon session.
Long Beach High School girls soccer coach Ashley Gervasi holding a football and standing with her soccer team on a field.
Insult to injury, Friday into Saturday’s inclement snow will also interfere with last-minute practice — and potentially field conditions.
But her story isn’t really about the kick anymore, she said.
“I’m just going to kind of leave it to faith and hope that my, whatever athletic ability I have right now, will get me through it,” said Castanio-Gervasi, who will be tugging on her favorite Darrelle Revis jersey, with whom she shared number 24.
“And if it doesn’t, I’m still happy,” she added. “I know my dad is looking down and is happy that I’m a part of it.”
