Friday, December 23, 2016

A family is suing to get daughter to play in the boys basketball team.

 As a sixth-grader last year, Sydney Phillips earned a spot on the girls basketball team at St. Theresa's School in Kenilworth. By the end of the season, she was picked as an all-star player.

This year, however, Phillips learned in October that St. Theresa's was dropping the team because not enough girls were interested. Phillips and her parents quickly approached the school, seeking some options and finally requesting their daughter be allowed to play on the boys team.

After meeting with several school officials, without success, Sydney's father, Scott Phillips, decided to take it to another step. He filed a suit against the school and the Archdiocese of Newark seeking that they be required to allow his daughter to play on the seventh-grade boys team.

"I'm not looking for money. I just want her to play basketball," Scott Phillips said...

In the lawsuit, Phillips says the school and the archdiocese do not have a specific rule prohibiting Sydney from playing on the boys team.

St. Theresa's, in the legal brief responding to the lawsuit, states Sydney Phillips' application to play on the boys team was filed late, a claim Scott Phillips says is not true.

Sydney has attended St. Theresa's since pre-school. She is the student council treasurer and an altar server, the lawsuit states.

Via Drudge: http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2016/12/girl_sueing_school_to_join_boys_basketball_team_af.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

10 comments:

chickelit said...

A simpler alternative would have been to allow boys to play on the girls' team -- enough to field a girls team.

chickelit said...

And don't believe for a second the dad when he says it isn't about money. Of course it is. They want a college scholarship for their daughter.

ricpic said...

And what happens when she gets banged up going for rebounds?

rcocean said...

Chick what a brilliant solution. Keep the boys team, and then add a "girls" team that's open to everyone.

rcocean said...

6th to 8th grade is that weird time when you have girls that taller then many boys. So, she's probably pretty good - comparatively speaking.

I'm surprised he filed a lawsuit. Aren't Catholic schools private and exempt from all the EEO bullshit?

john said...

I would certainly hope she would not get banged up going for rebounds.

It's bad enough getting pregnant from public swimming pools. Now it's the basketball court.

edutcher said...

When she gets decked, Daddy will sue the world, right?

Trooper York said...

Everybody sues for everything. They should just expel her. The used to expel kids from Catholic school if their hair was too long. Problem solved.

ndspinelli said...

Wow! People can be stupid and mean. I have forgotten more on this issue than some folks here know. A few thoughts based on knowledge and love of kids and sports. I have coached baseball teams w/ boys and girls. One of the best players on one team was a girl named Jessie Vetter. A real tomboy, diamond rat. She went on to be the goalie on the silver medal winning, US Women's hockey team. Our local high school didn't have girl's hockey. But, Jessie was allowed to try out for the boys team and started varsity for 3 years. I coached Jessie's older brother in baseball as well. He was a good player, Jessie was better. This girl should be given a chance to compete. And, for the past few decades, coaches of women's b-ball teams have had them scrimmage against the boy's teams to help them learn to be more physical. I look upon this as a dad simply sticking up for his daughter. But again, I love kids..boys AND girls.

ndspinelli said...

Or maybe we should just suspend the bitch!!!