Your Daily Dish

Feeding Outrageous to you Daily

Hide Advertisement
  • Animals
    • Farm
    • Pets
    • Zoo
    • Wildlife
  • Family
    • Grandparents
    • Kids
    • Parents
  • Health
    • Exercise
    • Food
    • Medical
  • Humor
  • Lifestyle
    • News
    • Science & Tech
    • Travel
  • Videos
Site logo
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Catholic Youth Basketball Team Wins Fight to Keep Female Teammates in Playoffs

By Robin Milling 3 min read
Advertisement - Continue reading below
Source: NJ.com

There are many positive reasons for playing sports in school. Coed teams in particular create a great social environment for kids and can counter the notion that females can’t be as competitive as their male counterparts.

At St. John The Apostle Parish School in New Jersey, that philosophy was slam dunked when two girls on the 5th Catholic youth grade basketball team were told they couldn’t play in the playoffs.

Advertisement

The team’s T-shirts may say #unitygames, but the decision to break them up was anything but that.

On January 27, the team was informed by the league’s director they had broken the Catholic youth rules by playing as a coed team. Jim Goodness, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, told NJ.com that there are rules which specifically state the teams could be coed only through 4th grade. St. John’s athletic director Jack Cajuste admitted he made an error in allowing the team to exist this way at the 5th grade level.

Despite playing 10 games as a coed team without objection, officials said the team had to forfeit those games citing league rules had been broken, according to parent Matthew Dohn..

Source: NJ.com

The boys and girls — some who have played together since the second grade — refused to be benched from the playoffs, and on February 10, showed up in unison to play against St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Referees had been instructed not to work if the girls played, but the coaches and parents left the final decision up to the team.

In this video taken by NJ.com, Cohn questioned the team, “Is your decision to play the game without the two young ladies on the team. Or to stay as a team as a team as you played all season with the girls on the team.”

Unanimously 11 hands shot up in favor of forfeiting rather than losing their female teammates.

Parents and coaches applauded the kids’ decision.

One parent concurred, “These kids are doing the right thing. We don’t have to tell them what to do. They just know. It’s amazing.”

Another parent said, “The positive thing that we saw was that everybody came together and supported each other. At the end of the day that’s what Catholic School and being Christian is all about.”

Source: NJ.com

Parents weren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. Seeing their sons’ commitment, they took up the fight and gave St. John’s pastor Rev. Robert G. McBride a letter to deliver to the Archdiocese of Newark’s newly installed archbishop, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, pleading for the team to remain coed.

Victory was theirs when on February 16 the decision regarding Catholic youth was reversed. Tobin said, “We want the children to play for the very reasons CYO sports leagues were established: to provide a source of both recreation and reaffirmation of our Christian faith.”

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Motorist Actually Thanks New Jersey Trooper for Speeding Ticket
Apple
Robin Milling 3 min read

Motorist Actually Thanks New Jersey Trooper for Speeding Ticket

Adhesive Ibuprofen Skin Patch Can Provide 12 Hours Of Pain Relief
Lifestyle
Jason Owen 2 min read

Adhesive Ibuprofen Skin Patch Can Provide 12 Hours Of Pain Relief

NCAA Tourney Round-Up: Spartans Snubbed Top Seed, Major Upsets Expected
Entertainment
Elisabeth Brier 2 min read

NCAA Tourney Round-Up: Spartans Snubbed Top Seed, Major Upsets Expected

Adorable Girl Greets Big Brother With Big Hugs After School Every Day
Apple
Jason Owen 1 min read

Adorable Girl Greets Big Brother With Big Hugs After School Every Day

Meet The Punisher in the New ‘Daredevil’ Season 2 Trailer
Entertainment
Margo Gothelf 1 min read

Meet The Punisher in the New ‘Daredevil’ Season 2 Trailer

These Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes Are Needed Now More Than Ever Before
Apple
Steven Lerner 2 min read

These Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes Are Needed Now More Than Ever Before

Dashcam Video Shows Student Juggling to Prove to Cops He’s Sober
Apple
Brian Delpozo 2 min read

Dashcam Video Shows Student Juggling to Prove to Cops He’s Sober

Miley Cyrus To Host The VMAs Like A ‘Wrecking Ball’
Entertainment
Ryan Miller 2 min read

Miley Cyrus To Host The VMAs Like A ‘Wrecking Ball’

Coal Emissions Found in the Mysterious, Deadly 1952 London ‘Killer Fog’
Apple
YDD Contributor 2 min read

Coal Emissions Found in the Mysterious, Deadly 1952 London ‘Killer Fog’

Brian Williams Finally Speaks Out
Entertainment
Ryan Miller 3 min read

Brian Williams Finally Speaks Out

Wedding Photographer Interrupts Photo Shoot to Capture Photos of Groom Saving Drowning Boy
Apple
Robin Milling 3 min read

Wedding Photographer Interrupts Photo Shoot to Capture Photos of Groom Saving Drowning Boy

Life “Twirls On” for Kenya Moore
Entertainment
Ryan Miller 2 min read

Life “Twirls On” for Kenya Moore

sidebar

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

sidebar-alt

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • For Advertisers