High School Let Brett Bowden Play!

[PghxCheer2]

I couldn't give a better explanation of this story than his family, so here's the story in the words of Brett Bowden's family:

Brett Bowden is 19 and has Down Syndrome. He is a junior at Hobbton High School in Newton Grove, North Carolina. Brett loves to play football, draw, play video games, and of course be a normal 19 year old boy. He has the personality and attitude that everyone wants and needs. Everyone loves Brett with all theirs hearts. He has been playing on the varsity team for Hobbton every since he was a freshman. This year Brett was very excited about playing, he has already started practicing and bonding with the team. Brett calls his teammates "his brothers". This young boy is very passionate about this game of football and it's not like Brett even plays, he just enjoys warming up with the team, practicing, putting on that number 11 jersey and pads. This is what he looks forward to when school starts. Now that football has started, The North Carolina High School Association has told the coaches and our family that Brett is not allowed to play because he is 19 years old. Everyone is heart broken by what they have told us. We are trying to fight this because everyone in the community believes that there is ways around the rules! We need everyone to like this page and share it with everyone else. If we have to, we will take this on the news and get everyone in North Carolina's attention. Then maybe the association will change their minds!!

Thank you for all your support!
The Bowden Family

When I initally joined the group just a few weeks ago there was only 6,000 members, but it has grown to well of 65K subscribers! I worked with Speical Needs students all through high school and we had a similar athlete on our football team, so this story is near and dear to my heart. Support our fellow sport, FIERCEBOARD, for if it wasn't for them cheer would have never developed into what it is today! So here's the link to the "LET BRETT BOWDEN PLAY!" facebook group run by his sister and the rest of the Bowden family: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Let-Brett-Bowden-Play/229211873780578?sk=info

You can also see the story which initally brought me to the facebook page, along with many of the other subscribers: http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/...-kicked-off-team-by-rig?urn=highschool-wp4452

 

[TheVipersMom]

Maybe I'm confused but is this because he is 19 and the rules state he can't play?

If it has nothing to do with his disability only age alone then I agree with the ruling. If it's not then let me know I may just have it wrong. However, I do understand that he loves the sport the coaches can let him be a team manager, a water boy, or still take them with him!

 

[ACEDAD]

He's too old and shouldn't be allowed to play. There have to be rules.

 

[AndyT_T]

He's too old and shouldn't be allowed to play. There have to be rules.

He isn't playing. He just practices with them and stands on the sidelines.

The same thing happened to a girl with down's syndrome that was on our high school cheer team. This happens all the time I liked the page.

 

[AndyT_T]

He's too old and shouldn't be allowed to play. There have to be rules.

Also, he's "Special Needs", that means he has "Special Needs".
The rules for special needs students are often different for those of non SpEd students.

 

[ACEDAD]

Also, he's "Special Needs", that means he has "Special Needs".
The rules for special needs students are often different for those of non SpEd students.

I understand. I've worked with special needs athletes for more than 10 years. I don't think anyone can question my commitment to special needs athletes.

I'm all in favor of making reasonable accommodations. But there are some things that can't (or shouldn't) be adjusted because there is no end.

 

[TheVipersMom]

He isn't playing. He just practices with them and stands on the sidelines.

The same thing happened to a girl with down's syndrome that was on our high school cheer team. This happens all the time I liked the page.

Well he can stand on the sideline, but he shouldn't be able to dress out, he shouldn't be assigned a number, or be on the roster. Rules are rules. As much as I want to give them opportunity but your not going to let a beast running back from another team be on the team if he is 19. So you can't let him!

My daughter played t ball before she started cheer. It was a real league and they kept score, had playoffs, and had a championship team. We had a young player with a similar disability on my daughters team. Every time he would go to bat, he could some times hit the ball off the tee. The problem would come when he would swing he would throw the bat. He couldn't comprehend not to do that or just sit it down. The umpires would overlook the rules for him and not call him out. They would let him run the play anyways. Well when we got deep into the playoffs another teams girl threw the bat. The umpire called her out. Our player then gets up on the last play of the game to decide the winner since the bases were loaded. He swung and hit it which would of put us winning because we had someone on 3rd who made it in. Well they called us out. The parents on our team threw a fit but honestly as much as I hated how it ended. It was right we should of been out the whole season when he did that. The rules should not be over looked because when is it going to stop. Yes that's amazing he loves his football team that much but that doesn't mean he can't support them without being on the team. The problem with allowing it is where do you stop, petition to have the rule changed not just him being overlooked!

 

[AllstarObsession]

i believe that special needs individuals shouldnt be treated any differently.
they are normal people with dreams and goals and feelings just like everybody else.
that being said, there should be no special treatment just because this young man was born with down syndrome.
he is still a person that should not be held to higher or lower standards than the rest of the football players affected by the rule.

 

[Keep_Believing]

I will say in Texas the law states Sp. Ed. students may stay in school until they are 21. Due to job training programs & transition programs many Sp. Ed. students are encouraged to remain in school until they are 21. I would imagine it would be hard for any student to be enrolled at school and attend school, but no longer be allowed to participate with the other students. Sometimes you need to look at the individual situation to determine what is fair.

 

[PghxCheer2]

I think it's a different situation than the one you're talking about @Kris10boo . The child you are talking about was scoring actual points, and throwing the bat can seriously injure somebody. When I was 12 a girl got 5 of her front teeth knocked out from a kid throwing a bat. I would be totally understanding if they said he can't run an actual play, but what harm is anybody suffering if they let him dress in pads and a uniform, and let him run a touchdown play after every game? And if we're treating special needs kids like we treat everyone else. Why are they in school til their 21? Why not just throw them in regular classes and get on with it?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but in cheer, are special needs teams not considered "all ages"? Most of the SN performances I've seen are the of-age kids help them out with the SN athletes, but the SN athletes are allowed to be any age. Couldn't Brett's play after the game just be considered the "Special Needs" branch of High School football? The of age kids on the "regular team" help him out to make him feel like he's part of the camaraderie. I guess I just don't see the harm in it, especially because my high school did the same thing with a student named Matt, where he was able to be considered an official member of the team until he graduated (He was 21). They let him dress, assist in the coin-toss, practice with the team, etc. The guys all loved him and not only did it help Matt, but it helped a lot of the football players in our school better understand the SN students. Many of them got involved with the "Best Buddies" program at our school and such. I understand rules are rules, but I feel like there are some rules that can be bent if given the right situation.

 

[ACEDAD]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but in cheer, are special needs teams not considered "all ages"? Most of the SN performances I've seen are the of-age kids help them out with the SN athletes, but the SN athletes are allowed to be any age.

Yes the special needs cheer division is 8 & up. There is no upper limit on the age bracket which just means it's similar to an open division.

If one of the special needs athletes wanted to compete in one of the club divisions, they are perfectly welcome, but they have to meet the same age requirements that all the other athletes have to meet. I've worked in several instances to help the parents of special needs athletes deal with their school administration to make reasonable accomodations to allow the athlete to cheer on the school team.

In my years on the special needs committee, I've dealt with hundreds of parents, teachers, coaches & administrators asking about what rules can be "fudged" etc. I've even had people ask if we could treat special needs athletes at their "mental age" for inclusion in the club divisions. For example, a 14 year old special needs athlete should be allowed to compete on a youth squad if his "mental age" is 8. I stopped that as quickly as I possibly could. There is no way to objectively measure that.

I'm all in favor of inclusion at every level possible. And I've had people accuse me of lying about that position when I advocate a special needs division in cheer as opposed to including those athletes on the club teams. However, we all know that most of the special needs athletes could not keep up. And that's okay. With all the athletes in all star cheer, we group them by age, sex, and ability. The special needs division is no different. They are grouped using the same criteria.

I really think that all star cheer has set the bar for much of society on how to include special needs athletes in the event and give them a chance to actually compete and excel. Too many "opportunities" are simply unearned pats on the back.

 

[My3KidsMom]

This story reminds me of the movie Radio, if you have not watched it I would say you should. One of the best movies ever made. Based on a true story