Girls just want to have fun and Title IX protects that want. And
at San Juan School, some of the girls just aren’t having fun.
They have been denied the pleasure of playing flag football
because they expressed their interest in playing too late in the
season. Walking on to the team in mid-season, therefore leaving the
girls less time to catch up to what the boys have already learned,
is no reason not to let them play. They may have to work a little
harder to get the plays memorized and may require some extra
practice and more effort on their part to make up for the lost
time, but this is still no reason not to let them play.
Girls just want to have fun and Title IX protects that want. And at San Juan School, some of the girls just aren’t having fun.
They have been denied the pleasure of playing flag football because they expressed their interest in playing too late in the season. Walking on to the team in mid-season, therefore leaving the girls less time to catch up to what the boys have already learned, is no reason not to let them play. They may have to work a little harder to get the plays memorized and may require some extra practice and more effort on their part to make up for the lost time, but this is still no reason not to let them play.
Principal Joe Hudson said he has no problem letting girls play flag football. They just should have come to him sooner. Were the girls even aware they had the opportunity to play flag football?
San Juan School offers flag football, soccer and basketball to the boys and volleyball, soccer and basketball to the girls. Sounds even. But the school also offers co-ed cross country and volleyball teams. So after the math, the boys end up one team ahead of the girls. A direct violation of Title IX, the federal law saying no one shall be excluded, denied the benefits of or be subject to discrimination from any educational program or activity on the basis on sex.
The remedy to this problem? Let the girls play flag football. Who knows, she might have the best arm on the team, the best hands to be wide receiver, the quickest feet to get out of reach of the other team so as not to have her flag pulled. And what will they learn? How to cope in a strenuous situation, dealing with some boys who want them there and some who won’t. They’ll learn how to be stronger individuals. They’ll learn the true meaning of teamwork and discipline. They’ll learn to be better people.
But the girls for this year’s eighth grade class won’t get the chance to know. Next year will be different. Next year’s girls will be able to play. As for the girls moving on to high school, maybe we’ll see them on the high school team. And they might be the best things that would happen to the team.
