Earlier this week, a little girl’s dream of shooting hoops for her school was crushed.
Twelve-year-old Syndey Phillips from Kenilworth, New Jersey wanted nothing more than to play basketball this year. However her school, St. Theresa’s School, had other plans. The Catholic school would not be having a girl’s team due to lack of interest. The boys team, however, would remain intact. This gave Sydney Phillips an idea: so she couldn’t play on the girls team, but according to law, surely she could play on the boys team.
Again, Phillips’ hopes were crushed. St. Theresa’s School refused to allow her to play on the boys team, which brings us to the lawsuit that got Sydney Phillips and her little sister expelled.
There is no rule in St. Theresa’s School’s handbook which prevents Phillips from playing on the boys team, thus when they refused to allow her to play, Phillips’ family took action by sueing the school. They asked for no money, but instead that the school would allow Sydney to play. On January 5th, the case was closed as the Judge of a Superior Court ruled in favor of the school. Instead of giving up, however, Phillips’ family appealed the ruling.
Soon after, the Phillips family received a letter from St. Theresa’s School. NJ.com reported,
“The email, which referenced a letter the Superintendent of Schools delivered to the family’s home, said neither Sydney nor her younger sister, Kaitlyn, “‘should be coming to St. Theresa’s School tomorrow morning or any day thereafter.'”
Yup. The school expelled Sydney Phillips and her sister as a result of the lawsuit. What’s really disappointing about this is the fact that young Sydney Phillips wanted nothing more than to play basketball. That’s it! On top of that, her sister had absolutely nothing to do with the lawsuit, yet she too was expelled.
There is, however, a bright side to this story. Upon hearing about the Phillips’ family story, the Women’s NY Liberty basketball team invited Sydney to play with them. The young girl ran drills with the team at their practice facility, and Olymic medalist Teresa Weatherspoon even gifted Sydney her own personalized jersey.
As of yesterday, an appeals court judge ruled that Sydney and her sister must be allowed to return to St. Theresa’s School. While the decision to let her play on the boys basketball team is still pending, we’re glad that Sydney got the chance to shoot hoops with the NY Liberty team, and that at least she will be able to attend her classes.
