At 19, most boys are either in their freshman or sophmore seasons in college. Hobbton High School senior Brett Bowden is not most boys.
Brett is 19, and entering his senior season at the North Carolina school. He was on the varsity football team the last two seasons, but mostly leading cheers from the bench. He has one touchdown on his record, scored last year. For now, it's the only one he'll ever have, because at 19, according to state eligibility rules for high school sports, Brett is too old. That's not the only issue at hand here, though. You see, Brett has Down's Syndrome, which explains why he's still in high school at 19.
Brett is what is now called a "special needs" student due to Down's Syndrome. Despite the affliction, Brett tried out for and made the team, and, according to a Yahoo! article, is the most popular member of the team. The entire community is rallying around this young man, led by his sister, who has started a Facebook page with a petition to try to convince state officials to amend their rules to allow Brett, and other kids like him with Down's or other disabilities to be able to play past the age of 18 if they're still in high school. From that same Yahoo! article comes this quote from Davis Whitfield, commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association:
"I want to be clear that the student-athlete has not been 'kicked off the team'. Brett Bowden could still be a part of the team, lead his team on the field, wear his jersey and be with his teammates, including some of the post-game activities he has done in the past. The only thing that he cannot do now that he could do before is dress out in full uniform, since a student must be eligible to be dressed for a contest. He is over the age limit based on the eligibility rules, and this State Board of Education policy is one we are not allowed to set aside."
Right now, that's about the closest thing to a compromise that the NCHSAA can offer, within the framework of state rules. Yahoo! headlined their article by implying that Brett had indeed been booted from the team, but that's stretching things just a wee bit. The least that the school can do for Brett is to appoint him as a team manager or something, so that he can be more of a contributor to the team, even if he can't be on the field. That seems to be the most likely scenario.
3 comments:
To me, this seems an "equal rights" vs. "special rights" issue. I, personally, don't believe rules or laws should be bent because of their special disability. I agree with you that the school could offer him a non-player position with the team so he can remain part of the team, but if the rules say he can't play because he's too old, then they have no alternative.
I'm going to have to agree that regardless of his disability, the kid's going to have to abide by the rules.
I'm glad that the kid can hack it in a mainstream school environment, that he can play football and his teammates like him, but his disability shouldn't entitle him to special treatment.
If he didn't have Down's Syndrome, and under the exact same circumstances, would this have ever been an issue? Somehow I doubt it.
Magicdog: You're absolutely correct. If Brett didn't have Down's Syndrome or any other disability, then it's a non-issue, and we move on.
Crhymethinc: I'm not taking sides on this issue. The NCHSAA is caught in a catch-22 situation. As is the case in college, a student-athlete has but 4 years of eligibility. In college, you can be redshirted for at least one season. In high school, they have 2, sometimes 3, levels of play (freshman, JV, & Varsity), and I've never heard of any student being redshirted in high school. Brett has used up his eligibility, and the only option left for him is to be the team manager this season, which I pointed out in my original post.
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