It is finally over. The "Girls Football Lawsuit" is finally over as a settlement was reached.
I have tried to take you on a ride and let you see what the school board is and what decisions we can and cannot make. I share as much as I can on this issue.
Because of closed meeting laws, there are some things I can only discuss in closed session. Litigation is one of the closed-session restrictions. Because of past litigation, I could not share directly how I felt about Girls Football. I can now share since the case has been settled. Here are my views on this issue.
Remember, this is my Facebook page, and the statements I make here are my opinions and do not reflect those of other members of the Jordan School Board or the Jordan School District.
I am sure no one on the Jordan School District Board or the district better understood the frustrations the Girl's Tackle Football League had with our schools. I get it. These girls go to our schools but can not play and be recognized in the sport they love.
For you who do not know, in my (pre)school board life, I was a significant player in the Utah Lacrosse Association. I coached, refereed, and served on the ULA executive board for over a decade. I was President of the Utah Lacrosse Association when we first started to push for sanctioning. When I started with Lacrosse, we had half a dozen teams; when I left, we had about 10,000 students playing in Utah.
It was frustrating, to say the least, working with some school administrations. Some were very welcoming, but many were not. I started the Herriman girl's lacrosse program, and I remember taking our girls to the hill to speak to legislators to pass laws to allow teams like us to play at our local schools.
One of the many things that pushed me into board politics was when I heard a Jordan School Board member at the time, and an administrator speak against my players in an education hearing. They did not want club teams and their players to have access to their school's facilities.
Our buildings and our fields do not belong to our schools or the district; they belong to the public. Our schools, however, are stewards of these properties and need to take care of and protect these community investments. There is a tricky balance to strike.
Our lacrosse program would rent fields, but were often told by coaches or employees to get off the fields we rented. Our lacrosse players attend their schools but cannot put up posters or a trophy they won. There was no recognition for our club sports back then.
I understand the Girls Football Association's frustrations with our schools because I experienced them with Lacrosse. Lacrosse was forced into being sanctioned because of the unfair treatment they were receiving from many schools.
As the President of the Utah Lacrosse Association, I approached a school to host our state championships on what they call their football field. We offered $10,000 for a weekend to use their fields but were turned down. That is why all of our state championships back then were in Park City, a district interested in working reasonably with our sport.
When I got on the Jordan School Board, I wanted to provide Fair access to ALL our students.
Fair is not always equal, but Fair is Fair.
We went to work on our club policy, especially as it pertained to Club sports.
We acknowledged that sanctioned sports should prioritize facilities first, but club sports should be second. If a sanctioned program was not using the facility, then a school club program should be in second position.
The board changed the policy to allow announcements to be made about club activities and sports. Trophies can now be displayed for club sorts. They can even recognize them in assemblies.
Here is a copy of the club policy
https://policy.jordandistrict.org/aa443/
Later, the Jordan School Board created a policy that allows the creation of clubs at the middle school level. I would love to see more sports opportunities at the middle school level. I am also grateful to see more before and after-school opportunities at the Elementary School Level in club-like activities.
It should be noted that the Jordan School District does not sanction sports for the UHSAA. The UHSAA has a governing board that does that. Our board had little to no effect on whether we could or could not sanction girls' football.
The case did not get Girls Tackle Football what they ultimately wanted, to be sanctioned, but they got something better.
Staying at club stats as an emerging sport will allow those who love this sport passionately to run the program. They can do what they want to organize their sport. They can combine schools with little interest in Girls Tackle Football and make extra teams at a school with too much interest. Something they could not get if they were sanctioned.
An emerging sports category is fantastic for sports like Girls' Tackle Football, Girls' and Boys' Rugby, Girls' and Boys' Waterpole and Mountain Biking. Other activities like Pickleball, Field Hockey, Frisbee, football and golf, bowling, badminton and various other sports will come. We now have an excellent policy to allow ALL students to participate in the activity they want to be a part of at their school. Everyone has a way to be included.
I love the Girls Tackle Football program. They play many games at Butterfield Park, across from my house. I often walk down on a Saturday and watch the girls play. I also catch them on social media. I love it when they play the games live. I wish our ladies the best moving forward, and I hope we all learn how to play fair.
It's a good day for everyone to have this case behind us. Now let's move forward together.