Flag Football Team Forced to Forfeit Wins Because of Girl Player

A 13-year-old girl's presence on her Pasadena school's flag football team caused the Foothill Sports League to reverse her team's undefeated record last season of 8-0 to 0-8, because girls apparently weren't allowed to play, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.

Ella Wood, a student at Sequoyah School, sets up at linebacker and tight end and, according to the story, isn't just some token girl -- she can play. She recorded an interception and a go-ahead TD grab in a game against the league champs last season, and she was also the lone girl on her coed rec basketball league to make the all-star team, according to the Times.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

The back story reads like this: As the season began, the league voted against allowing a girl to play. If Ella played, it would mean a forfeit, even though the games could still take place. And Sequoyah would be banned from postseason play.

Ella's teammates didn't blink.

"All the boys felt the same way, that if she didn't play, we wouldn't play," recalls parent-coach Anthony Orona.

Last fall, when Ella told her story at a school assembly, her fellow students gave her a standing ovation.

Sequoyah has formed a girls' flag football team for the spring, but is short on signees, leaving Ella's football future in doubt, according to the Times.

Check out the rest of the story here.

Patch Asks: What do you think of Ella's situation? Should a girl be allowed to play flag football with the guys?