Tackling gender norms and boys

by Isai Carmona | sports editor

Johnson High School’s freshman football lineup looks more promising than ever. With the new addition of running back Kara Rosado and outside receiver Sherry Scott, the team is more excited than ever to make an impact this season.

“People told me that I couldn’t do it, so I had to prove them wrong and prove to myself that I could,” Rosado said.

Both players started their football career in middle school athletics.

“I’ve been playing for two years,” Scott said. “I played in eighth grade at Tex Hill and now I play here.”

Through all the change the team is experiencing this year, having girls on their team is the least of their worries. 

“Most of the time the team is pretty welcoming and a lot of the coaches are really nice,” Scott said. “They try to be supportive and they don’t treat us very differently from everyone else.”

The idea of being a female on a football team is abnormal enough, but having two girls on the team is an utter fluke.

“It definitely takes off a lot of the pressure of being the only girl and like having all eyes on me, but at the same time, it’s like, okay, now there’s two,” Rosado said. “Now they’re not as important.” 

Having two girls on the team is doing more than just redirecting the crowd. 

“It gives another person to talk to, because even though the guys do try to talk to us, you can’t really always agree on stuff,” Scott said. “It makes it a lot easier to go out to practice together and change in the locker room.”

All things considered, the goal of these girls, and the team as a whole, is not to win games.

“I just really liked the sport and it’s a lot of fun and the team’s really great,” Scott said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email