Israeli teen can’t play on cricket team as she’s a girl, Tel Aviv court rules
Naomi Eytan won't be able to play on Israel's national male-only cricket team in the Maccabiah Games
An Israeli teen cannot play with the national cricket team in the Maccabiah Games, an Israeli court ruled.
Naomi Eytan, 14, has been playing all season on the Israeli national under-19 cricket team. She is the only girl on the team, which the Tel Aviv District Court ruled Sunday is male-only.
The Maccabiah Games are scheduled to start in Israel on July 4 and run for two weeks. The Games bring together tens of thousands of Jewish athletes from around the world for sport competition. There is no female under-19 cricket competition and Maccabiah organisers told Naomi that she could not play with the Israeli national team since the competition is for males only, the Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli national team is made up of the top 15 cricket players under the age of 19 in the country.
Naomi’s mother, Carmel Eytan, told the women’s organisation Naamat as she waited for the court decision on Sunday: “Look how she stands among then so proud in the new uniform, and how heartbreaking it will be if, as a result of an unfair decision, this place that she earned through blood, sweat and tears will be taken away from her for one reason – just because she is a girl!” Naamat posted a photo of the team and Carmel Eytan’s statement on Facebook.
Naomi Eytan’s attorney, Gali Etzion, told the Times of Israel that the court based part of its ruling on what she said is a misinterpretation of the rules of the competition, which refers to a “12 man” team, and actually is used to describe both men’s and women’s cricket.
The teen said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel: “I’m an athlete and I’ll always be one. No judge’s decision will break me. My way of proving that I am equal to the boys is to continue training and to participate in the future in the European Championship.”
The mother of Naomi Eytan, the cricket player who has been forbidden from participating in the Maccabiah because she is…
Posted by NAAMAT INTERNATIONAL on Sunday, 2 July 2017
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