NSAA's Transgender Mandate Would Be Justification To Revive Six-Man Football

It was reported earlier this week that the Nebraska State Activities Association, which governs high most school sports, plans to draft a policy on participation of transgender students.

NSAA Executive Director Jim Tenopir said his staff will come up with a proposed policy and introduce it to the board for consideration.

The fact that the NSAA staff wants to open doors for transgender students to have access to your son's or daughter's locker room should give us all pause.

The NSAA in recent years has done more to diminish participation in high school athletics than to encourage it.  From scheduling that makes no geographic sense, to pushing its far-left social values on rural school districts, the NSAA is making matters worse.

This latest development is an opportunity for small school districts in Nebraska -- many of which are struggling to field football teams of their own. 

Instead of taking the NSAA's transgender, cross-dressing marching orders, it would make more sense for rural school districts to combine forces and create a statewide, independent six-man high school football conference.  NSAA staff have said repeatedly that the organization has no interest in overseeing six-man football, as it did years ago.

The timing for this is perfect.  Last year, 67% of participating Times' readers said they wanted to see DHS football return to Nerud Field in the form of the 6-man game.  

Currently, there are only a handful of Nebraska schools -- 18 to be exact -- currently playing the six-man game.  But many Class D schools have combined students with nearby schools, like Dorchester has done with Milford.  Other Class D schools have cancelled their seasons, like Elwood, due to lack of participation in the 8-man game.

Years ago, the NSAA stopped administering the six-man class of football. A separate group decided that they wanted to take control of the scheduling, playoffs and championship. The nearest school to Dorchester participating in the state's Six-Man Football Association is Deshler.  Most of the six-man schools are much further west.  

Dorchester's six-man teams of the 1950s were quite successful. Sixty-six years ago this fall, Dorchester resumed its football program, with only eleven players going out.  Reader and DHS alum Vern Johnson tells us that "the best 6-man player DHS ever had was Jack Bruha, a 2-year all-state player in the early 1950s."

The Longhorns played 6-man football for 10 full seasons before transitioning to the 8-man game in 1959, when DHS went undefeated.