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| Wednesday, October 25 Bring it on By John D. Hunter ESPN.com | |||||||||||
The recent court ruling in favor of a female football player seeking damages after she was cut from the team because of what she felt were gender issues, has caused a stir in the college football community.
The issue of females trying out and playing male-dominated sports is a hot topic and the court ruling brought it even further to the forefront. Should women be allowed to play college football? How would they be treated by their fellow teammates?
"I'm all for fairness, but not at the expense of opportunities for anyone. If they can make the team, so be it. But special considerations just because of gender is not fairness. It's not fair to anyone, especially the players on the team as well as the person trying out. If I were in that position, I would want to know I legitimately made the team instead of making it for a political reason." "I would treat her like any other player. No better, no worse." Chris Lepore, free safety Navy "I think it takes a lot of guts for a female to attempt to play a male sport. If a girl tried out for a football team and could get the job done better than anyone else, then I say let her play. It shouldn't make any difference what her sex is. If I was on the same field as a woman it wouldn't bother me one bit. I would treat her as I would any other player. This court decision does not effect the way I feel about women in the game, or how I would treat them." Travis Dorsch, kicker Purdue "I think women deserve the same rights as men when it comes to the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA has separated athletics by gender from the get go, yet has recently attempted to make opportunities equal for both men and women. Why, then, do we try to play sports that are not designated for us as male or female athletes? "Here at Purdue, we don't have either a men's volleyball or a men's soccer team, and it would be ridiculous to think men should be allowed to compete with women's teams in those sports. Similarly, I think it is absurd to think that women should be permitted to participate in a sport (football) where there is only a men's team. If Universities want to come up with a way to make women's football an intercollegiate athletic event, more power to them. But as long as sports are separated by gender, let's keep it that way. "Another solution would be to drop the gender issue all together -- lets just have one basketball team, one football team, etc. Then we'll see how many women are able to participate at the collegiate level. Now, obviously this is an example of something that will never occur, but it helps us realize that athletics are separated by gender for a reason."
"I personally don't care about women playing sports dominated by men because I think everybody should have a chance to display their talents whether it be a man or a women. It wouldn't bother me at all if a woman was on the field because in high school I had a female on my football team. It really didn't matter to me that she was on the team because I knew her pretty well and the whole team supported her." Javon Green, wide receiver Colorado "If (women) can handle it, I think they should be able to play whatever sport they choose to. I have nothing against women trying out for football teams. If they have what it takes to make it, then that's great. I have personally never competed against a woman in football, so I really couldn't tell you how I would feel doing that." Chris Palic, punter Arizona "I personally don't see anything wrong with women playing football. It's just seen as a male-dominated sport. There is no reason why anyone shouldn't be allowed to play. When I was in high school, there were actually five girls in the area that played football, and they were all placekickers. "As far as treatment, I would treat her just the same as any other player. I would hope that she would compete just as hard and expect to get hit just like anyone else." Reggie Newhouse, wide receiver Baylor "I've been around some pretty tough girls and, in my opinion, it would be hard to play with them. The way I was raised, it would be hard for me to hit a girl. On the other hand, if a girl is talented and thinks she could do a good job, she should go for it. "Everybody out there is the same to me. I think I could accept the fact that a woman is on the field with me. Football is a game and we're out there to have fun, but hitting a girl wouldn't be anything to brag about." Aaron Thompson, LB Maryland "Well I'm not too crazy about females playing male-dominated sports, but if someone decides to let women play, it would be good and proof that there is equality for all people. I would feel funny playing on the field with women, but if I were put in that situation and had to block, tackle or hit a woman to put food on my table then so be it. I see it like this, football is a physical sport. You hurt or you get hurt. No matter the gender, playing football is about survival." | ALSO SEE
Week 1: The first gameWeek 2: The stunning upset Week 3: Effective coaching Week 4: Road trip!! Week 5: Ouch! Week 6: Media frenzy | ||||||||||
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