The subject of women playing football has always been an uneasy one for most people. Should young boys or grown men be able to tackle and hit women the same way they do other guys? Will a young lady in pads change the way the game is played because the male players might be afraid to hit her? Many questions have been raised, but recently women have made some strides in the world of football. A couple weeks ago, this high school kicker won homecoming queen and kicked a game-winning field goal in the same night. Prior to that, the Virginia Tech football team decided to let a female try out for their team’s kicking job.
Along came Mina Johnson, an eighth-grader from Southampton Academy in Virginia. Johnson is a 5-foot-2, 170-pound defensive linewoman who recorded four sacks during her team’s Sept. 22 win. According to the Tidewater News, Johnson volunteered to sit out last Thursday’s JV game against Northeast Academy.
“The Northeast Eagles said they wouldn’t come to the game and would forfeit because I am a girl,” Johnson said.
The good news is Johnson’s team won the game 60-0. The bad news is there is a rumor that another school, Word of God Christian Academy, is also considering forfeiting on Oct. 27 if Johnson suits up to play.
The Tidewater News says that both teams belong to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, which prohibits boys from participating in girls’ sports and vice-versa. However, Johnson’s mother is outraged by the issue and says there are no rules that say her daughter should not be allowed to play junior varsity football.
There is nothing in the rule books for junior varsity football in North Carolina or Virginia that says a girl can’t play,” Mona Johnson said. “No one is breaking any rules by allowing her to play. I absolutely hate this for Mina and for the team. They are all just kids playing a game and having fun doing it. It’s terribly unfair to them all.”
Normally when a school does not offer a sport for both sexes, anyone can participate in that sport. I know at my high school girls were allowed to play on the football team as long as there was no girls football team, which there never was. Regardless of what the rule book says, that’s pretty cowardly of an opponent to threaten to take a loss if a girl plays. If she were a bench-warmer, there wouldn’t be any issue with it. Since Northeast Academy must have been worried about losing 85-0 if Johnson recorded a few sacks, they decided to roll with the classless approach.
