After being banned from playing football at her private Christian school, 12-year-old Maddy Paige has decided to be home-schooled next year, according to My Fox Atlanta.
The Georgia student made headlines last month when she was kicked off Strong Rock Christian School’s football team, despite her successful season as the team’s defensive tackle. Maddy was banned from the team after the school made a new policy that prevented male and female students from playing on the same sports teams.
The school’s CEO told Maddy’s mom, Cassandra Blythe, that he thought allowing Maddy to play on the all-male team might cause the boys to “have impure thoughts,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In a Facebook group Maddy’s family created for her cause, the young athlete explained with a post Monday why she has chosen home schooling.
“Should I go back to the school that does not allow females to compete or find somewhere else that accepts girls and treats them as equal?” she posited in regard to her dilemma.
In the end, she wrote that she decided home schooling would be her best academic option. She will continue to play football through recreational leagues and through a local group of home-schoolers.
According to her post, she will “continue to fight for gender equality” and believes “all athletes should play to their ability and not their gender.”
At press time, the post explaining her decision had been shared more than 100 times and been liked by more than 2,000 Facebook users. The Facebook page currently has more than 48,000 likes.
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