Mina Johnson is the first girl to play football for Southampton Academy in Virginia — and she’s a starter who racked up four sacks in a single game earlier this year.

But despite her talent, Mina was forced to sit out two games this football season because of a backwards rule: She wasn’t allowed to play because she’s a girl.

Football teams from two rival schools threatened to forfeit their games against Southampton’s Raiders if Mina played. Both teams are part of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, a conference that doesn’t allow girls to play on boy’s teams — even if no equivalent team exists for girls.

Adrienne Smith and her teammates on the U.S. National Tackle Football team were appalled when they heard Mina’s story. That’s why they started a petition on Change.org demanding the conference change its policy to comply with Title IX and allow any capable girl to play football.

While boys still outnumber girls in high school sports, Title IX has helped level the playing field dramatically over the past 40 years. Researchers studying the regulation’s impact have shown that girls who participate in sports are more active, do better in school, and go to college in higher numbers than girls who don’t play sports. It’s hard to imagine any school or conference would want to roll back that progress. 

If enough people join Adrienne’s campaign protesting the unfair treatment Mina received, the conference will have to change its policy — allowing Mina to play against its teams next year, and making sports more accessible for girls across North Carolina. 

According to her coach, Mina is “an example for the team of how to hustle and work hard.” It’s time for the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association to support female student athletes like Mina, and let them play.

suddenly reminded of the Proud Family episode where Penny was a bad ass football player