Georgia is a state where football is big. The University of Georgia is typically ranked, and this year it is considered a National Champion favorite. The Atlanta Falcons have a lot of people around the state doing the 'Dirty Bird' (well maybe not lately). And then there are the high school ranks that turn out a lot of top college recruits every year.
However, there is one resident of Georgia that is being denied the opportunity to play simply because she doesn't have a Y chromosome.
Meet Kacy Stuart, a freshman prospective kicker for the New Creation Center Crusaders, a private high school in the state known for peaches.
This isn't a case of a girl wanting to show the boys that a female can play football too. Stuart has been playing organized football since middle school when her team, Union Grove, went to the state finals. This is simply a case of a U.S. citizen wanting to play a sport like any other high school jock.
This also isn't the same thing as Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters is held every year, not allowing women to play. Stuart is a high school student simply wanting to help her team win. And I don't think it's mere coincidence that Augusta is also in Georgia.
She would have played for the high school Union Grove funnels, but this summer her parents moved, putting her in a different school district.
Still, the New Creation Center accepted her. She had been practicing with her new team for two months until team photos were shot and executive board member for the Georgia Football League, Hank St. Denis, found out a girl was on the team. The school was then immediately ordered to dismiss Stuart from the team.
This would be a pretty easy fix for the state of Georgia or, if need be, the federal government, as it's a blatant violation of a person's First Amendment rights; however, because the school is private, the situation becomes a very sticky one.
A private institution of any kind - school, business or any other - can violate some First Amendment rights. In a very real way, by being part of a private institution you sign away your rights.
The idea of a private institution being able to have some rules that wouldn't be allowed elsewhere is a good ideal and does a lot of good in business and in education. However, ideals don't always work because, as it suggests, it takes an ideal situation.
I don't have a problem with private schools, high school or otherwise, being able to have some different rules, but the line should be drawn somewhere. Allow me to suggest the line be drawn between the classroom and the playing fields.
A private high school can do as it has for so long in the classroom; however, its sports teams should have the same rules as public high schools. The student-athletes should have the full protection of the First Amendment. A female who wants to play football shouldn't have to go to a public high school, thus getting a worse education, just to be able to put the pads on.
Stuart's mother, Angie, said they will file an injunction and will do whatever they have to so Kacy can continue to play the sport she loves.
If the Georgia Football League won't fix the injustice on its own, then the Georgia Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court should. If GFL doesn't fix the problem on its own its board members should be fired and Hank St. Denis should lose the right to have the "St." in his name.
Write to Levin at ltblack@bsu.edu
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