We Don't Recall the Bible Saying Anything About Female Football Players

Spalding County, Georgia football kicker Kacy Stuart has been cleared to play by the authority governing Georgia High School football. She -- note the pronoun -- had been prohibited for most of the season by the authority, a ban based solely on her gender. This ruling came despite there being no rule prohibiting girls from playing high school football in Georgia. Hank St. Denis, the head of the authority, would not discuss the case, saying simply that "She's playing, isn't she?" in response to media inquiries.

Stuart, who plays for the New Creation Center Crusaders, has faced stiff opposition all along in her attempt to kick for a high school team, though unlike Mr. St. Denis, at least some of her opponents are willing to cite some book of rules in lieu of just making things up. The East Atlanta Mustangs played the Crusaders, but sent them a statement prior to the game about the religious implications of having a female kicker:

“The East Atlanta Mustangs didn’t play us under protest but they were allowed to read a statement on their beliefs about female football players,” [New Creation coach Ken] Townley said. “They used biblical verses from the book of Romans. I was very stunned by that.”

I paid no attention for the entirety of a Catholic upbringing, so I had to consult the Book of Romans just to see if women were mentioned at all. The only passage I can find from the King James Online version that might even remotely apply to women doing "un-womanly" things is this:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature...And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

I'm working well out of my depth, but ... it sounds like they were afraid playing with a female kicker would make them ... gay? Right? HELP! Where's a theology major when you need one? Another team has canceled their date with the Crusaders, though the coach says it's for "other reasons" other than their "unnatural" kicker. For the record, Stuart converted three extra points in her game against the East Atlanta Crusaders in a 39-8 victory. Her successful attempts went through naturally enough to count on the scoreboard.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.