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Southern Idaho Town Bans Girls From Youth Football

L.C. Nottaasen
/
Flickr Creative Commons

A southern Idaho recreational football league is banning girls from play, even though league rules specify that girls should be included.

The Times-News reports Gooding Recreation District Director Kent Seifert recently told youth football coach Smokey Legarreta to remove two girls from his team after Legarreta allowed them to join despite the local ban. Seifert declined to comment on the ban.

One of the girls is Legarreta's stepdaughter. He says both cried when he told them they couldn't play on the fifth-grade team anymore.

Gooding is the only team in the Magic Valley Youth Football League that bans girls, and league rules say both girls and boys are eligible. League Commissioner Mike Preece says he doesn't have enforcement power, but the league will review the situation next year.

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