Herriman freshman still trying to prove football isn’t just for boys

SALT LAKE CITY — A 14-year-old freshman from Herriman is making headlines again – on the grid-iron, on the stage, and in court.

Last week, the National Football League honored Utah’s Sam Gordon with its inaugural, “Game Changer,” award.

“My dream is that high schools and colleges will offer girl’s football teams. And I am going to fight to see my dream come true. Utah will be the birthplace of girl’s high school football,” said Sam Gordon during the NFL’s ceremony.

Tuesday, she took the dream she shared with the world all the way to federal court and now it’s one step closer to reality.

Gordon said, “I weigh about one hundred pounds and if I go play high school football there is seniors that weigh three hundred and there’s no possible way to compete but if I want to compete that’s the only opportunity I have. So that is why we are trying to get that girls tackle league in high school so girls have the opportunity to play what they love.”

Sam Gordon, her father Brent Gordon, and five other high school aged girls filed a lawsuit against three Utah school districts.

For now, the judge sided with the girls.

Sam’s attorney Loren Washburn said, “The reality is that the number of participation opportunities for girls is not the same as for boys. And today they found that the schools we are suing today Jordan, Granite and Canyon haven’t had a program in place that they are even moving in the right direction.”

Sam Gordon and her friends may have won their day in court but they said they would prefer not to come back to court. They would like to sit down with all of the school districts and find a way to accommodate the girls.

“If we win here we start a movement and I think it can grow into colleges and even a league like the NFL,” said Sam Gordon.

In the meantime, Sam Gordon will continue to play football in the league she created, the Utah Girls Tackle Football League.