Philadelphia archdiocese denies talented girl spot in CYO football for fear of inappropriate...
stevek
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Philadelphia archdiocese denies talented girl spot in CYO football for fear of 'inappropriate touching'
Brooke Choi is by all accounts a proud 12-year-old offensive lineman. She grew up in a football-loving family, so much so that her mother calls herself a “football widow” during the fall while her husband coaches and her son and daughter take the field.
Brooke has three years of football experience and beat out 22 boys for a roster spot on teams that won two championships in the league in which she used to play.
Yet Brooke is different from her teammates. Brooke is at the age where being a girl on the gridiron starts to become a “thing.” In this instance, it’s an issue for the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which reversed a short-lived policy in 2014 that allowed for co-ed CYO football teams.
In doing so, the archdiocese is back in the spotlight for again denying a talented, passionate player a chance to play in its organization as profiled Monday by Brian Hickey of PhillyVoice.
Brooke Choi should be allowed to play football.
Hopefully this stupid decision denying her the opportunity to play will be overturned by someone smarter than the silly dope who made this unacceptable decision.
Comments
Of course, in a perfect world she should be allowed to play. But put yourself in the position of the powers that be during the current "MeToo" environment. It's very possible and not unreasonable that male players will not be comfortable interacting with her on the field the way they would with male players, either due to their own inhibitions, or due to the fear of being accused of inappropriate behavior. If this were the case, it would adversely affect the quality of play.
And please don't pooh-pooh the idea of a male player feeling this way. The idea that such an accusation would occur at some point is not at all far fetched. The situation would be even worse in co-ed wrestling.
As much as I feel badly that there isn't a league in which a good female player would fit in seamlessly, I can't really criticize the league powers for this decision.
why is this a stupid decision? why should she be allowed to play on the boys football team? Would it be fair to allow a boy on the field hockey team? the softball field? of course not. If she wants to play football, they need to fund and field a female team. there is a reason girls and boys sports are separated. There is the opportunity for inappropriateness as well as the natural strength/speed difference between the sexes.
as to the schools reasoning, of course there could be inappropriate touching. lots of stuff goes on at the bottom of a pile.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
<<< why is this a stupid decision? >>>
Because she had already been playing for three years at a level good enough to make the team that won two championships.
The silly dope who made this bad decision wishes to put the genie back in the bottle. Too late for that nonsense, she should be allowed to play. They are taking away an opportunity from her that she deserves to fulfill and have fun.
I played a lot of football grades 7 thru 12, every year except for the 10th grade when I didn't go out for the varsity team because I felt i was way too small to compete against 12th graders...and if one girl or more were on the field, the last thought and likely no thought would have been inappropriate touching. My thought would be to do my job, and tackle or block or score against the opposing players.
your last thought would have been no inappropriate touching... are you saying that there are no other boys playing who would act on those thoughts? I would say you are resoundingly wrong if that is your premise.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I have to disagree. The game is too fast and too rough for a player to be concerned about inappropriate touching.
you did not address the first part of my statement. should boys be allowed to play on field hockey or softball teams? I am sure there are tons and tons and tons of boys who would be great at either sport. If the boys who could make the team at an open tryout were allowed to play on the team, guess how many girls would be on the spring softball team? you guessed it, none.
There are girls sports and boys sports for a reason, make that more than one reason.
Paulmaul makes a great point as well. When I played contact sports, I never would have gone 100% against a female athlete. It would not have been fair for them or me. So yes, this aspect would definitely affect the boys playing on the opposing teams.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
All the guys I knew from the football team, I do believe would have never done that.
" The silly dope who made this bad decision wishes to put the genie back in the bottle."
Maybe that "silly dope" realized he made a really bad decision three years ago and decided to rectify it. that is what adults do when they realize they have made a mistake.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
You are naive. pervs are everywhere
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I do believe in girl's teams and boy's teams being separate in most sports.
However, equating this with boys playing on a girl's team is just plain silly and you know it. I'm not going to waste time writing a dissertation on a point which is already clearly understood by everyone.
why is it fair for a girl to play on a boys team and not vice versa? that is not silly at all. you just wont answer the question.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
If you are crying about things not being fair, then you need to keep things fair for everyone. you are talking out of both sides of your mouth here
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
My youngest sister actually co-captained her high school's boys wrestling team about 14-15 years before the Me-Too movement. Luckily she never mentioned anything funny going on in her matches and IIRC it took a few meetings with the school's athletic department before they agreed to let her wrestle.
I'm with Steve on this one,they had allowed her to play the three previous seasons and its kind of late to start playing cover your ass after the fact. Its at the point where the girl in this article either lets this go or decides to fight this by taking it to court.
Eric
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Damn right it's not fair to pull the rug out from underneath this girl, and that ticks me off.
If it doesn't tick you off, for whatever reason you conjure up, then so be it.
Kudos to your sister!
Especially being co-captain - Very cool.
Frankly, if I was in school wrestling her, my only thought, same as wrestling a guy, would be not to allow the person to pin me, and for me to pin them.
Oh let her play , they are catholics . If there is any inappropriate touching it will be boys victimized. The catholics are terrified of women , they would leap out of her way . Make her a running back and it would be one 99 yard run after another
She could always go play college ball at Sandusky state . She would be safe there
Got to protect the young men on the team. Any could be accused of inappropriate contact 30 or 40 years ago when they interview for a high profile position.
Sucks how things are in 2018, but one cannot be too cautious.
This is toxic femininity at it's worst.
Well, the rug shouldn't have been under her feet to begin with. The school is just righting a wrong that never should have been allowed in the first place. This young lady should never have been allowed on a boys football field to begin with. She belongs in that field no more than a boy belongs in a softball field.
Fair is fair, be it for boys or girls.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
You are quite right, look at the #metomovement and our new SC justice
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Well the coach of that two-time championship football team obviously disagrees with you. As well as the wrestling coach of Eric's sister who not only made the team, but became a co-captain.
I’m 100% on board with the decision not to let her play, and she can blame the media and this entire “Me too” movement, it’s absolute nonsense. Because of this Woman should not by any means be allowed to play in any Boys or Men’s sporting events. You want some poor high school kid to get his future employment opportunity destroyed down the road and be guilty until proven innocent because of a potential accidental “touch” while tackling her? All set with that, too bad but that’s how society has made it
You still refuse to answer the question, is it fair for boys to try out for the girls field hockey team? You won't answer because you know you will paint yourself into a corner.
What do you think will happen to the first boy who chop blocks her or initiates a helmet to helmet hit? You and I both know it will not be pretty for that boy, which is just one reason she never belonged on that field. The minute she steps on to that field, it is no longer a level playing field and you know it, you just won't admit it. Should girls be allowed into male boxing rings, male octogons? Where exactly is the line?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
The comments about Brooke Choi or anyone else like her, accusing someone such as what happened recently in the SCOTUS congressional hearings, are generally not applicable with women such as Brooke Choi. Perhaps there are a few exceptions, but fine women such as Brooke Choi do NOT do things like that. Case closed.
I don't know Eric's sister at all. However I would venture an educated good guess that she has become a fine adult, with a nice family and active in the community doing good things at work and/or for charity. Same thing that Brooke Choi will be doing as an adult.
If in a high school football game, some punk kid pinches Brooke's rear end in a pile on the football field, I could see Brooke rather than complaining about it, give the punk a nice little forearm shiver to the helmet on the next play...hopefully when the ref isn't looking. And if I was a ref out there, and knew what was going on, I wouldn't throw any flag on Brooke. LOL
The line is whatever are her athletic abilities and the risks she is willing to take...if underage needing parental permission.
You do realize that women are now allowed in military combat, and that's a little bit more strenuous and dangerous than a football game.
"The line is whatever are her athletic abilities and the risks she is willing to take...if underage needing parental permission."
Wrong. Athletes cannot be given the choice of risk assessment. This is why there is a concussion protocol in football, a state athletic commission for combat sports etc. The boxer always believes he has one more fight left in him, and so on...
Usually athletes will always choose to go back in or come out for one more inning. That is why leagues have protocols in place to protect them from themselves
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
And Stevek still refuses to answer the question...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Perhaps not, hopefully not. If I had a son on that team he would be off the team in a heartbeat. One hold and Gloria Allred would be at your door demanding a settlement.
Steve you of all people surprise me that you support this, have you not seen what is going on? Guys are getting roasted for questionable and foggy events that supposedly might have happened over 30 years ago at a drunken party and are being questioned in court cases over it as well as getting their reputation destroyed. It’s too easy to #Me Too someone nowadays, why do you think it’s ok to put these kids in this situation? If anything it takes away from the integrity of sportsmanship because these young guys won’t be thinking about the sport itself they will adjust their play to avoid potential mishaps which could result in tarnished gameplay as well as injury.
And high ranking Generals and fleet commanders are getting relieved of duty because of accusations.
Paul, you being in law enforcement, your viewpoint surprises me on this issue. I mean there was a time when it was thought by many that women could not make for good police officers. Which as we all know is a profession that is considerably more dangerous than being a football player. They said that women did not have the mental or physical capacity to do the job properly.
Denying an athletic girl the opportunity to excel at what she wishes to do, because of hypothetical situations which you and others point out could occur, but in reality are unlikely to occur, I think is being a bit callous.
Anyone getting in their car could be badly injured or dead from an automobile accident before they get home. Should that stop everyone from driving? I think not. That would be ridiculous, and denying this girl her dream after all of her hard work is ridiculous as well...and unacceptable. Sorry but I've got no bend on this issue.
BTW: I would guess the legal age to obtain a drivers licence in most states would average around 16 years old, which probably is around the same age as this girl. So she could drive a potentially dangerous automobile, but not play football? Come on now.
Well, if we allow stinking trial lawyers like the one you mentioned to overrun our society, then that is a very poor circumstance indeed, for all of us except them.
It is not right, good or fair. Using your law enforcement analogy, good cops are being jailed for doing their job. $65,000 a year and one hasty decision and the fellow goes up the river for 15 years. Same time people say duuuuhhh, why can't we hire and retain decent officers. The answer is readily evident.
Too bad for the kid but she better find a ladies football league or take up a different sport.
For clarification make no mistake about it I think Woman are sometimes a huge liability in LE, in a hands on combat situation a woman will need to go for her gun faster than a Man in most situations. In the Military I feel that they can excel just as a Man can so I’m not being a choavanist. Not a chance I can spell that correctly btw however the subject at hand is light years away from this topic, I don’t care how “Good” this girl is she should not be allowed to play for reasons I stated.
Here is where I think we would agree. If a woman can't do the job properly, for whatever reason, then she shouldn't be hired to do it. I am against equal hiring quotas in areas where the public safety is at risk. If a prospective police officer cannot properly pass the written or physical exams necessary to do a proper job, then they shouldn't be pushed thru and hired...but sadly, in this day and age, sometimes they are hired for reasons we all know.
In this case with Brooke Choi, she has been and is now capable of playing football at a level to make the team. She has proven to have the mental and physical capacity to do it, so there is no acceptable reason why she should not be allowed to do so.
I feel badly for the girl being denied an opportunity because of archaic thinking from the silly dope who made this decision. Hopefully the decision will be overturned.
All that being said, I have done a lot of business with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in the past, and they can be a stubborn bunch at times when it comes to certain things. Hopefully for the girl, this decision won't be one they stubbornly cling to, but it might.
Steve I don’t disagree with you about having the ability to play equaling a shot to play or be hired however due to the current state of the country the #Me Too movement destroys this, they should not be allowed to have it both ways. Do I feel bad for this girl? Sure but not even close as how bad I feel for someone who has had his reputation destroyed because of false or questionable accusations brought on by this #Me Too nonsense, sorry but it’s not a two way street with this matter. How would you feel if your son got denied a job or got ripped up in court by some some scumbag lawyer going over the top because he tackled this girl and got a handful of her rear end by making the tackle?
Points understood and they are valid points.
However we can't live our lives based on worst case scenarios.
Equating tackling a girl in a football game to some drunk, alcoholic prep student potentially sexually assaulting a girl could only happen in America. There is no legitimacy to the hypothetical those opposed to this girl playing have created.
Robb
you apparently do not have a fertile enough imagination.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
In your world but in reality it’s a valid point
In a litigious society, one often times does have to proceed as if the worst case scenarios could happen.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Yes in some matters, such as businesses that incorporate to protect personal assets in a worst case scenario. Also we have insurance against worst case scenarios.
However a worst case scenario with the thread topic is extremely remote.
ya the chances of your sons being molested by a priest at that catholic school are much higher than the chances they will be kept off the supreme court for fondling the one female football player.
Keep pretending its safe to send any kids to those schools though as long as the girls can be kept off the football team.
Not that it matters though , being a catholic means even after you get molested yourself you will send your own kids to the same school church whatever to get the same treatment
oh boy, did you just open up a whole new can of worms.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Egads.
Things were so simple when boys were boys and girls were girls. Buys didn't want to join the brownies and girls didn't want to join the boy scouts. When a bathroom was gender specific and before he was a she and they said Hey man, take a walk on the wild side. Dop de dop de dop. Hey man, take a walk on the wild side.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
This story isn't about Lou Reed singing about sex, drugs, and rock & roll. It's about a girl who wants to achieve.
This girl isn't trying to be a deviant like those in that song you mentioned.
oh gosh, again.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Never heard of that song.
Was that from the Go-Go's?