Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press WINCHESTER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A middle school sports league has banned girls from a wrestling team, saying boys and girls should not roll around on a mat together.
Last year was the first year girls were allowed to participate on the Frederick County Middle School wrestling team. The Northern Valley Junior League board voted to change the policy Nov. 8.
Fred Jefferson, the middle school's principal and a member of the Northern Valley Junior League board, supports the league's decision.
``It's a contact sport,'' Jefferson said. ``We just feel it was sort of inappropriate for girls and boys to be rolling around on a mat with their hands in places that normally wouldn't be acceptable.''
Allowing girls to participate on the wrestling team, he said, also presents a self-confidence problem for boys, who are taught it's unacceptable to lose to girls.
``The boys just felt uncomfortable,'' he said. ``It's kind of a self-image thing that young boys have. Boys are expected to beat the girls.''
Four girls planned to wrestle on the school's team this year.
Lory Piper, 13, said if boys can wrestle, she should be allowed to wrestle, too.
``I thought it was unfair, because it was something I was really looking forward to and something I really wanted to do,'' said Lory, who placed fourth in the 85-pound weight class in the league championship last year.
Lory's parents, Freda and Clyde Piper, support her. Freda Piper said she taught Lory the difference between a ``wrestling hold and a sexual move.''
Jefferson said the league's decision is supported by Title IX, a federal statute designed to bring equity to women's and men's scholastic sports.
Under Title IX, female students can participate on a male team if the school does not offer a separate program for females. But Title IX also states that females may be excluded from male contact sports.
Deborah Brake, senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., said she doesn't think Jefferson's reasoning would hold up in court.
``Even though the school is complying with Title IX, there are a lot of cases out there that would show that they are violating the Constitution,'' he said. ``The girls still have the right under the equal protection clause [of the 14th Amendment] not to be discriminated against in contact sports.''
There is no statewide policy on girls' participation in middle school sports.
Under Virginia High School League rules, girls can be on boys' wrestling teams at the high school level, said VHSL assistant director Larry Johnson. The league has no authority over middle schools, but many follow the VHSL's rules, he said.
by CNB