TEXAS WILL ALLOW GIRLS TO PLAY FOOTBALL

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 13, 1993                   TAG: 9302130039
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AUSTIN                                LENGTH: Medium
TEXAS WILL ALLOW GIRLS TO PLAY FOOTBALL
Texas high school football, until now played only by boys, is opening its huddle to girls.
The State Board of Education voted 9-3 Friday to amend a University Interscholastic League rule to allow girls to play starting in the fall.
"This is a gender equity issue," said Mary Knotts Perkins, a board member who voted for the rule change. "It's a matter of giving the opportunity to girls. That does not mean they have to be selected or they have to play."
The three votes against the change came from men who feared for girls' safety.
"My concern is for girls' health," board member Jack Christie said. "I am voting against it because of compassion. Maybe it's chivalry."
In a state known for having a "good ole boy network," allowing girls on the high school football field with anything other than pompons or marching band instruments is quite a coup, officials said.
"Friday night lights would take on an entirely different meaning," said Will Davis, an education board member who voted for the change.
Davis was referring to the migration that occurs in rural and urban areas across the state to high school football stadiums on fall Fridays.
While the decision was considered a victory in gender equality for girls, many of the state's education leaders believe only a handful will try out.
Marla Brumfield, a 5-foot-7, 120-pound freshman who plays three sports at Elsik High School in Houston, said she would consider trying out for football.
Brumfield said, "There's a difference between playing with your brothers and an opponent who's purposely trying to hit you."
No girls or parents testified on behalf of the rule change during two public hearings before the vote.
"Other than the fact that it does provide the possibility for a girl to play, in reality it doesn't really provide much access for girls," Texas education commissioner Lionel "Skip" Meno said. "It would be the exceptional girl who could compete."
Tam Hollingshead, coach of traditional football power Odessa Permian, said while he would give girls a fair tryout, he is concerned about injuries.
"My concern is football is a very violent sport, and I don't know if there are any young ladies that are physically and mentally prepared for that," Hollingshead said. "We must afford them the opportunity. We are going to carry 55 players, and we have 103 in the off-season conditioning program right now. Spots on this team are going to be hard to come by."
Texas becomes one of more than 40 states that allow girls to play high school football. In those states, nearly one million boys competed last year, while 112 girls played.
Several doctors wrote the State Board of Education, saying girls weren't physically developed to play high school football. But Bonnie Northcutt, assistant to the director of the University Interscholastic League, said, "You can find doctors who will speak on both sides of the issue."
Concerns over where girls will dress for the games can be solved with a little common sense, Northcutt said.
"A girl could dress down the hall in the women's restroom and then head into the locker room," she said. "That shouldn't be a problem."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB