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Judge: Utah schools don't need to offer girls' football
AP
Judge: Utah schools don't need to offer girls' football
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and SOPHIA EPPOLITO Associated Press Mar 2, 2021 Updated 52 sec ago
FILE - Sam Gordon catches a football in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
FILE - Sam Gordon looks at a football in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
FILE - Sam Gordon puts on her shoulder pads in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah girl whose football skills won her fame online has lost her court bid to have school districts create football teams for girls. ... A federal judge ruled against Sam Gordon on Monday, finding that Utah school districts aren't legally required to create a separate team because girls who want to play football can play with the teams traditionally filled with boys.
U.S. District Court Judge Howard Nielson acknowledged that schools and coaches could do more to encourage girls to play. But he also acknowledged concerns that without Gordon's star power there might not be enough girls to keep a league running that would have to be built from the ground up since no other high school in the U.S. has a similar program. ... Gordon's playing videos have racked up millions of views on YouTube since she was 9, but she and other female players argued they were worried about playing with physically larger boys as teenagers.
The case also included testimony about the harassment girls have endured while playing with all-boy teams. Gordon argued plenty of girls were interested in playing, pointing to an all-female league she started with her father six years ago that’s drawn hundreds of girls from the Salt Lake City area. Those numbers show girls want to play and could fill a roster, her lawyers argued.
But U.S. District Court Judge Howard Nielson disagreed. He found that no district policy had discouraged girls from playing, and that any harassment would violate athletic association rules. While schools and coaches could do more to accommodate girls, “the court is not convinced that it is required by the Constitution," he wrote.
{snip}
———
Eppolito is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Judge: Utah schools don't need to offer girls' football
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and SOPHIA EPPOLITO Associated Press Mar 2, 2021 Updated 52 sec ago
FILE - Sam Gordon catches a football in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
FILE - Sam Gordon looks at a football in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
FILE - Sam Gordon puts on her shoulder pads in Herriman, Utah, in this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo. A federal judge ruled against Gordon on Monday, March 1, 2021, finding that Utah school districts don't have to offer separate football teams for girls.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah girl whose football skills won her fame online has lost her court bid to have school districts create football teams for girls. ... A federal judge ruled against Sam Gordon on Monday, finding that Utah school districts aren't legally required to create a separate team because girls who want to play football can play with the teams traditionally filled with boys.
U.S. District Court Judge Howard Nielson acknowledged that schools and coaches could do more to encourage girls to play. But he also acknowledged concerns that without Gordon's star power there might not be enough girls to keep a league running that would have to be built from the ground up since no other high school in the U.S. has a similar program. ... Gordon's playing videos have racked up millions of views on YouTube since she was 9, but she and other female players argued they were worried about playing with physically larger boys as teenagers.
The case also included testimony about the harassment girls have endured while playing with all-boy teams. Gordon argued plenty of girls were interested in playing, pointing to an all-female league she started with her father six years ago that’s drawn hundreds of girls from the Salt Lake City area. Those numbers show girls want to play and could fill a roster, her lawyers argued.
But U.S. District Court Judge Howard Nielson disagreed. He found that no district policy had discouraged girls from playing, and that any harassment would violate athletic association rules. While schools and coaches could do more to accommodate girls, “the court is not convinced that it is required by the Constitution," he wrote.
{snip}
———
Eppolito is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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HOME / HIGH SCHOOL
Female Football Star Sues for Schools to Offer Girls’ Teams
Associated Press , October 27, 2020 10:22 am
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Sam Gordon‘s staggering football skills made her famous at age 9. But they didn’t make her fully welcome on the field. ... As the only girl in a tackle football league in Utah, she heard parents from opposing teams urge their kids to “beat the girl.”
“I had a target on my back, and it was in the shape of a ponytail,” said Gordon, now 17. “It was awesome to prove to them that I’m more than just a girl in pads. I’m actually a football player.”
Viral videos viewed by millions of her playing catapulted Gordon to a place in the country’s most popular sport, including the ESPN awards and Super Bowl commercials. But very few other women have gotten a toehold in football. ... To help change that, Gordon went to court.
She sued her school district and two others for refusing to create a girls’ football program under Title IX, saying many girls like her don’t feel comfortable playing with boys and some are even harassed. One player who testified said she was forced to change in the boys’ locker room at away games and often faced discriminatory treatment by her male coach and teammates.
{snip}
Female Football Star Sues for Schools to Offer Girls’ Teams
Associated Press , October 27, 2020 10:22 am
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Sam Gordon‘s staggering football skills made her famous at age 9. But they didn’t make her fully welcome on the field. ... As the only girl in a tackle football league in Utah, she heard parents from opposing teams urge their kids to “beat the girl.”
“I had a target on my back, and it was in the shape of a ponytail,” said Gordon, now 17. “It was awesome to prove to them that I’m more than just a girl in pads. I’m actually a football player.”
Viral videos viewed by millions of her playing catapulted Gordon to a place in the country’s most popular sport, including the ESPN awards and Super Bowl commercials. But very few other women have gotten a toehold in football. ... To help change that, Gordon went to court.
She sued her school district and two others for refusing to create a girls’ football program under Title IX, saying many girls like her don’t feel comfortable playing with boys and some are even harassed. One player who testified said she was forced to change in the boys’ locker room at away games and often faced discriminatory treatment by her male coach and teammates.
{snip}
and energy invested in high school football. All of it for the boys.
Are girls' sports given that kind of largesse?
Oh wait, there's always cheerleading.
