The boys soccer team of a Christian high school in Arizona decided to forfeit a game rather than play a team that included girls, citing religious beliefs.
Faith Christian School in Mesa, Ariz. chose to forfeit rather than face Foothills Academy College Prep, whose team has two female players. The rationale, according to comments from Faith Christian administrative leader Dick Buckingham in The Arizona Republic, is that sports just aren’t the place for things like equality and honor:
“I know it appears to fly in the face of what everyone is wanting to promote today, and that is equality. It is based on a religious perspective that God created guys and girls differently.... We want to teach our men that honor of ladies is just not in sports.”
Foothills Academy does not have a separate girls team. They benched their two female players in a game earlier this season where the opponent refused to play against girls, but this time voted to play with the girls or not at all.