Pa. girl makes federal case for chance to wrestle boys

A wrestling feud erupted into a federal court case this week to allow a scrappy young contender a chance to compete on the mats.

The contender, a seventh-grade central Pennsylvania girl, says her school has refused to allow her to grapple because she's female.

In the suit the girl, identified as A.B., said she has wrestled against boys since she was in third grade and has participated in at least five tournaments. And though she's never taken any blue ribbons, she's placed a respectable 2nd, 3rd and 4th in many.

Until this year, participating was not an issue. But as she entered seventh grade at Line Mountain Middle School, about 30 miles north of Harrisburg, she was blocked.

Line Mountain wrestling coach Darin Keim told the girl's mother, Angie Beattie, that he had no problem with the girl wrestling on his team, but school policy expressly prohibited it, according to court papers.

In recent years, girls have increasingly taken an interest in wrestling. In 2011, a West Mifflin, Pa, high school junior, Becky Barker qualified for a major state regional tournament.

Able to cite plenty of precendents, Brian Beattie, A.B.'s father, went to the school board to argue his daughter's case. He was rebuffed and told that girls were prohibited to play on contact sport teams with boys.

In late April, Beattie challenged the district directors again.

The board president, Troy Laudenslager, refused to budge, citing objections by Line Mountain parents and competing schools' which "would be forced to be uncomforable or forfeit" if a girl were allowed on the team.

"There's a lot that could be awkward," Laudenslager told newsitem.com.

With the wrestling season about to start up again next week, the school told the Beatties it was standing firm and denied the girl the right to compete on the team.

On Monday, the Beatties filed suit in U.S. District court for Middle Pennsylvania claiming the Line Mountain district had discrimated against A.B. in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendement.

Attorneys for the Line Mountain School District declined to comment.