Gridiron Is For Girls Too Essay Research

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The Gridiron is For Girls Too

The roar of the crowd, the smell of the hotdogs in the air, and the loud crack of the helmets on the field, these are all things that football is made of. Now, do you find it unfair that women can not experience the excitement of creating this atmosphere like men do? Not often to we hear a woman s name being announced over the loud speaker for making a touchdown. In some cases girls are allowed to play football through high school. If they can play up through high school why are they not allowed to play in college and the NFL? There should definitely be a change made to this policy. Allow women to play football if they have the ability and desire to do so.

I agree that if women play in men s sports, men should be able to play in women s sports. Let a man play in college volleyball of softball if they want to. As long as both sides are getting treated fairly I think anyone should be able to play whatever sport they want to play. Let s take football for example, there are a few points I want to touch on first. Some people who oppose this idea of women in football think that when women get into football they are going to just get tackled and claim sexual harassment on some guy. Women are smarter then this! If a woman is good enough to make a team them one would guess that she has played football in middle school, high school or with other people. She is most likely well aware that football is a full contact sport. There is no way a woman could claim sexual harassment just for being tackled in a game or practice. Locker rooms are also a place that some people say could cause problems. Women should be allowed the same accommodations men are. We accommodate the handicapped that want to watch the games and we should do the same for women who want to play the game. A second point to the opposition is that women are not built to play football. That may not be true in some cases but look at many of the men in football. Most kickers you see along with some wide receivers are not large either. Unlike some other positions in football wide receivers don t need to be very big. You actually might to even better if you are smaller. I know a guy that played for Garden City Community College and now plays for Kansas University, that is smaller then I am. No one told him he couldn t play because of his size. Why should we let size be a factor in whether women play football or not?

There are some women who go through life playing football and enjoying it, but when they get to college we tell them they cannot play anymore. Women should have the chance to play football just as much as men do. Look back in time to all the things that people said women couldn t do but turned out that they could. Look at Lynett Woodard, who was the first woman to play basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters. Now who would have thought that a woman could play basketball with men? It was said at one point that women could not vote, run for governmental offices, fly planes or businesses. The funny thing is that once they were allowed to do so women did very well at all the things I have listed above and so much more. Once they were given the chance to succeed they did with flying colors. Let the women try out for the team with the men. If they can not handle it during tryouts, cut them like you would any man who could not play. If given the chance I am sure women would prove themselves, just like they have done in years past.

A great example of someone who will not get the opportunities on the football field she deserves is Rachel Kokotovich, a linebacker and offensive guard for her football team at St. Veronica in Eastpointe. Rachel is a normal 13-year-old girl except for the fact that she plays football with the guys at her school. She is 5 6 and 125 pounds and does all the girl things such as go to the mall and wear make-up. Rachel was quoted saying I like football. I was going to play soccer but they didn t have a team. (The Detroit News) This shows that there are girls out there who want to play the sport because they like it, not because it is just fair. Aren t we limiting a woman s potential by telling her from the start that she can play football, but once she graduates from high school we make her quit? Let a woman pursue her dreams of being a college or a professional football player if she wants to. People have tried to put things together such as the Women s Professional Football League (WPFL). It lasted for a little while but fell apart in the 1980 s. Think of all the women that played in that when it was up and running. I am sure those women have a desire to get back out there and show everyone what they are made of. I know that if I finally got a chance to get out there and play football again I would sure try my hardest. To be the best I could be, and to show that I could do what I put my mind to.

A lot of schools give out scholarships to guys who play football. This is another thing we are limiting women from if the policy doesn t change. Scholarships help a lot of people make it through school, and there are plenty of women out there who need scholarships and help just as much as the men do.

Growing up playing football with my dad, brothers and neighbors was so much fun. My dad always said that I could run faster and catch a ball better then any of those boys. Where I grew up it was unheard of for a girl to play though. So once I hit school age my focus had to change from football which I knew and loved to play, to softball which I have grown into. I have always wished that I could have kept playing football because I know I could be pretty good at it. I do not want to see anymore girls having to give up something they love because a few people think that women are not made for football.

Changing the rules to allow women to try out for college and NFL football teams would be a huge step in the equality fight among genders. The change might also show everyone that women are not all frilly dresses and make-up anymore. Women can be tough too! The loud roar of the crowd, the smell of hotdogs in the air, and the crack of the helmet on your head with the helmet of a guy (or girl) on the other team. Not that is how women should be able to experience football. With the right skills and just a small chance some women could show that they have the ability to do anything a man can do.

“Football and athletics helps teen-ager overcome shyness.” The Associated Press. October 4, 1999. AM cycle. SECTION: Sports News. DATELINE: PEPIN, Wis.

Girl Finds Football lot of fun . The Detroit News. September 18, 1997, SECTION High School Sports. Detroit, MI.

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