to start: I haven't been in H.S. for years, and my school didn't even have football.
I'm also not a volleyball fan....but it's a good example
I'm just looking for some opinions since i just saw a question regarding this.
Lets say a school lets a girl play football.
This school doesn't have a guys volleyball team.
Don't they have to let guys play on the girls volleyball team?
what arguments could you make for/against it?
Anonymous
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This type of issue is something I've thought about for a while, actually ever since women have been trying to qualify for mens golf tournaments. For example, Michelle Wie, I do not believe she should be given the right to play in all those mens tournaments she has been playing. She has not proven to play to the caliber required in order to compete in a mens event. Now I do however feel if a woman goes through qualifying, she deserves the right to play. If a man is not good enough to play on the PGA Tour, but yet is good enough to play on the womans tour, should he be allowed to play? That is what I struggle with! What do you do about a woman who was once a man and wants to play on the womans golf tour?
As far as your question, I believe if a woman is physically capable to compete and play against the men there should be nothing stopping her. But what is there for a man to do in the reverse situation? You bring up a good point with the volleyball issue. Men technically get screwed in this situation and I know people will say for years men received all the benenfits and had all the sports, I agree, but times have changed. The other problem faced for the girls is handling all the jerks out there who can't handle it and for the guys to handle the ridicule of playing a "girls" sport.
Excellent topic!!!
nyknyygiants
Wow great question. To start in high school I played on the same freshman team as the first girl ever to play football in my school. She wasn't treated differently then any other player, and once she had a helmut and pads on it was nearly impossible to tell her sex.
The opposite however, brings up a very interesting legal question. Naturally people want to say no, since guys are more athletic than girls giving them an unfair advantage. However, i'm not sure legally, the school can stop males from participating without have a male volleyball team.
Nickie
Equality must be by it's definition equal for all.
If they let a girl play on a guys team they must let a guy play on a girls team. I'm no lawyer but a good one would win either argument.
But what we must ask ourselves is where will the line be drawn. Must that boy playing on the girls volleyball team share the same locker room and showers with his team mates? Can his teammates file for sexual harassment when he pats their butt in congratulations on a play?
We open ourselves up to a never ending world of trouble when we try to gender neutralize our kids. When we tell them that boys are no different from girls. HELLO look in the mirror people boys ARE different from girls.
Does that mean that boys should get more out of life than girls? no.... but should we say that girls should get more than boys because they are girls? no as well.
Being a Christian I am having a hard time not bringing creation and God's plan for the family into all this, but, it is so vitally important that we keep the sexes separated. Not one dominating the other but realizing our differences, celebrating those and acknowledging that men and women need each other to be men and women.
Sorry I'll get off my soap now now!
tnk3181979
I believe the way the law about equality in HS sports works (at least this is how our athletic director explained it to us in high school) is that schools do not have to offer the exact same sports to both boys and girls, they just have to offer the same number of sports each season/semester to both boys and girls. But your point is valid, if they allow a girl to play football or wrestle (another example) they should let boys play volleyball. The argument there being that you don't have an "equal" sport for girls AND you let the girl play football or wrestle, therefore the boy should have the same opportunity with volleyball. But if the school is not and/or will not allow a girl to play a boys only sport, a boy would not really have a legal case to be allowed on a girls only team.
Many schools have co-ed teams. Tennis, swimming, track, golf and soccer are all examples of common co-ed HS sports teams. There are lots of reasons for doing this, not having enough of one gender to make a competitive team or to save money on coaching staff, being some very common ones. I think volleyball would certainly be a good candidate as a co-ed team.
Anonymous
This is how my athletic director explained it to me:(Illinois High School sports), (it might be different in other states):
Girls can play football.
Boys can play volleyball.
If the football team makes it to the play offs, the girl can play, because IHSA doesn't officially have a girl football team league/play offs.
If the volleyball team makes it to the play offs, the boy cannot play, because IHSA recognizes Boys Volleyball as a sport and has official play offs. My school just doesn't offer it as a sport.