Female football player tells all - on Ellen
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Female football player tells all - on Ellen
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
I know that Lance Armstrong's mea-culpa appearance on Oprah's show this week will make headlines. But it'll be stomach-turning. That's why I think the better athlete-on-TV appearance this week is Caroline Pla's, who was a guest on today's Ellen show.
Pla is the fierce 11-year-old who desperately wants to continue playing football in the Philadelphia Archdiocese Catholic Youth Organization's football league. The league is boys only, which Pla's coaches didn't know until Pla was into her second year with the team. Someone dimed her out to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and she was ordered off the team. Her coach made the case to let her finish out her second season. Now, she'd like to stay for a third, but nada, says the archdicoese.
That's a shame for Pla, who's been an outstanding player.
"Without a doubt, she was the most inspirational player on the team," her former coach Jim Reichwein told the Inquirer. "She was every bit as strong and as tough as any person on our team. She never backed down from a single challenge."
Pla started a petition to change the policy, and before her appearcnce on Ellen, it had over 33,000 signtatures. I have a feeling that number will leap, now that Pla has shown her grit on to a national audience.
Check it out.
Are people really this clueless? I'll repeat the same things said when the Inqy posted this story the first time, the next 2-3 years will begin a rapid disparity in muscle mass, speed and skills for boys versus girls.
So what would happen when some boys the same age but twice her size bulldoze her over and leave her crippled for life? Would the Philly Archdiocese get an appearance on these flavor-of-the-minute shows like Ellen to say "I told you so"?— Phils_World_Champs- Yea, and it just proves that you are still a moron. — AreaMan
- To the Phils... Have you ever actually played a sport with women? Probably not because if you had, you would have a slightly different opinion. The thing is, she wants to play. That is her choice (the Catholics just HATE when women are allowed to make any type of choice). If she wants to play, she has the backing of other players, coaches and literally thousands of others she should be able to play. The Philly Archdiocese could care less about 'muscle mass' and 'speed'. They want to keep women in what they perceive to be 'their place'. That is the bottom line. Maybe eventually she would stick to track and basketball but it should be HER choice, not a silly club of mostly men who look down their noses at strong women.
- The Archdiocese recently closed the CYO office. This will probably drive the nail into the coffin and they'll get rid of the CYO altogether. They can use the money for priest trials.— Boru
- Let her play. In two years, she will be run over by bigger stronger boys. Every parent (seemingly not Ellen) knows that girls can easily compete with boys up until about puberty and the course of nature separates them physically. Look at junior high track. Girls beat boys all day long. Then in 9th and 10th grade, wham, it turns upside down. The entire discussion is a non discussion.— PFCzar
- Can't wait for the sexual groping law suits! $$$$$— STEPHEN1988
Yay, everyone tell the girl and her parents what to do, and what not to do. Y'all feel better now?— verve- And when she gets hurt where will those people be? The only ones around will be the ambulance chasing lawyers !— FatBoy90
- GO NAVY!— neon doctor
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
