Curiosity
Girl Banned From Football Because it’s “Just For Boys”
girl banned from football
Caroline Pla loves the game of football and has been engaging in the sport since she was age five. However, she was recently banned from competing in the boy’s team in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) because of her gender.
The competitive eleven-year-old believes she has been discriminated against purely because of her gender.
The Archdiocese has said that despite the ban, it is reviewing its policies regarding females playing in the boys league. At issue here isn’t whether Ms. Pla has the heart and skill to play the game.
It is the concern that as the boys she competes against enter puberty and begin experiencing a rapid increase in their physical strength that Ms. Pla will be exposed to injury in this contact-sport. However, Pla believes the concerns are not warranted. She began the season at the same height and weight as her average teammate and finished the season being a full three inches taller and fifteen pounds heavier.
The increase in height and weight was also commensurate with her peers. In her own words, her competitors at times have not even noticed her gender due to her dexterity on the field. Pla certainly makes a compelling case for herself and her teammates have fully embraced her.
‘I had my hair pulled up,’ she told the Philadelphia Inquirer. ‘And I kept my helmet on except at halftime and the end of the game. There was never a time when I couldn’t handle myself.’
But she added: ‘Sometimes, they used curse words and made fun of me for being a girl and made fun of my teammates for playing with a girl.’
Still, the star player hopes she will be able to continue playing the sport she loves.
‘My favourite thing was probably all the friends that I made through it and they are all like my brothers now and that’s the best part,’ she said.
‘At first, everybody was like “whoa there’s a girl,” but then they accepted me. If I feel I want to stop, I will just stop, but as of now I want to keep going if I can.’
Speaking out: An online petition in support of Caroline has garnered more than 7,000 signatures
On The Web:
Girl, 11, banned from playing on Catholic football team by Archdiocese because ‘it’s just for boys’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258547/girl-11-banned-playing-catholic-football-team-archdiocese-just-boys.html