Should Girls Play Football?

Last night on the local news, there was a story about high school girls who signed up to play football. It wasn't the typical "Girl Tries Out for Team" story. Rather, football was listed as one of many different physed classes. While some of the classes had strict guidelines, football had none, opening it up, on paper at least, for girls as well as boys to join. But when these girls showed up at practice, they were told to leave.

The story caught my interest because of a similar situation that happened in my own community a few years ago. A church began its own pee wee football program. The ads announced "All Children Who Want to Play Football" and the only written restriction was an age limit. One girl signed up. She was told to go home.

To me, this isn't an issue of "Are girls able to play football or is it a battle of the sexes?" Instead, as the parent of an athlete, I wonder where the line should be drawn. Should sports be co-ed?

I have no answer to this, unfortunately, only an opinion. And my opinion is that sports should be kept sexually divided. It has nothing to do with whether or not girls are able to "keep up" with boys, but rather to keep the purity of the sport intact.

I've heard that there are girls who are "too good" for the girls' team so they "move up" to the boys' program. But what about the boy who is clearly more talented than his peers? Where does he go? Nowhere. He remains on his team and often elevates the play of that team. Would the Bulls be as good without Michael Jordan? All good teams have a star who can inspire the team to push its limits.

For this reason, it is important for girls to remain on girls' teams. As the opportunities for female athletes increase, the talent level and the game itself improves. Women's basketball is an excellent example. Not too many years ago, women's basketball was a dull, slow game. It did not have the glitter of the men's games, with its dunks and supertall players. But as the athleticism of the women improved and as women began to focus on it as a different game rather than a watered-down men's game, women's basketball changed. It's a more fluid game. Still slower paced and lower scoring, but there is more emphasis on teamwork and solid shooting than in the men's game. Putting it into perspective, men's and women's basketball are two different sports as opposed to sex-based versions of the same sport.

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