If Christian school in California won’t play football against girls, it can stay off the field

The Lions football team of Valley Christian Academy — a small private school in the Central Coast city of Santa Maria — is once again refusing to play against girls.

That’s in spite of the fact that it’s becoming more common for girls to plays football, especially in California.

And it’s in spite of the fact that VCA already is facing one lawsuit because it refused to play against Cuyama High’s football team last year. That squad included a female wide receiver whose mother filed the suit.

Now VCA, which is affiliated with First Baptist Church, could be on the receiving end of even more backlash for forfeiting an upcoming game against Coast Union High, a public high school in Cambria where two girls are on the football team.

The reason for the boycott?

The school administration says playing football with girls conflicts with the “guiding principles of the Bible regarding the care of a woman,” according a legal document filed in the Cuyama case.

That’s an awfully vague and lightweight excuse in an time when more and more women are participating in traditionally male-only work, including fighting alongside men in the military.

So is this truly about religion — or is it simple gender discrimination?

‘We are not raising our daughters to be “fighters”’

For the record, while once an oddity that inspired after-school specials, it’s now perfectly legal for girls to play on boys football teams and it’s become increasingly accepted — though not so much in some conservative Christian circles.

“We are not raising our daughters to be ‘fighters’ the same way we are with our sons,” Nancy Wilson wrote in an article published on the Christian website Reformed Perspective. “The goal we have in mind in raising sons is to inculcate masculinity. And we want our daughters to embrace a godly femininity, not a worldly feminism.”

But as far as the U.S. government is concerned, girls have the right to play whatever sport they choose, no matter what the Bible says.

Title IX — the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in schools — specifies that girls are allowed to play for a boys team if a girls team in that particular sport isn’t offered.

The California Interscholastic Federal also spells that out in its bylaws: “Whenever the school provides only a team or teams for boys in a particular sport, girls are permitted to qualify for the student team(s).”

In the lawsuit filed over the Cuyama case, Valley Christian Academy argued that, because it’s a private religious school, it isn’t subject to Title IX rules.

However, if a school receives federal funding, it is not allowed to claim an exemption.

And guess what? In a recent ruling, a federal judge found that Valley Christian Academy did indeed receive federal funding, in the form of a Paycheck Protection Program loan issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. So the judge ruled that the case can move forward to trial.

Player was ‘humiliated, embarrassed and shocked’

Ironically, Valley Christian scrimmaged against Cuyama High last year, which apparently went smoothly until the female player took off her helmet at the end of the game.

“Upon seeing her gender, the observers, coaches and administrators of Valley Christian glared at (the player) while shaking their heads in disbelief,” according to a court filing.

A few days later, Cuyama High’s superintendent received a letter stating that the female player — whose identity has not been disclosed — would no longer be welcome to play football at the Valley Christian campus.

The player was left “humiliated, embarrassed and shocked by the public display of unwelcomed reactions,” according to the case file.

Of course she was. One minute, she’s treated as an equal on the playing field. The next, she’s treated like a pariah who should trade her helmet and pads for a spoon and apron?

Certainly, church members are entitled to their beliefs.

But if they’re so beholden to them, why would they want to play in a league with rules that run counter to those beliefs?

And why would CIF allow a team to remain in a league when it so blatantly discriminates against players who have every right to be on the field?

After all, this is a conflict that’s not likely to go away, not as more and more girls become interested in football.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution that can be reached outside of the courtroom.

Either the Valley Christian Academy Lions agree to play — whether or not girls are on the opposing team — or they withdraw from the league.

If they won’t withdraw, CIF can show them the door.

This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 9:49 AM with the headline "If Christian school in California won’t play football against girls, it can stay off the field."