Fifth-graders unanimously vote to forfeit basketball season instead of kicking girls off their team

St. John's 5th grade basketball team won't play unless all of their team members can go on the court.

This is what solidarity looks like. A group of fifth graders recently faced a dilemma: kick the two girls off their basketball team or risk forfeiting the entire season. In a touching motion of unity the team unanimously voted to not play if their female teammates could not join.

Women in the World explains:

Jim Goodness, a spokesperson for the archdiocese of Newark, told NJ.com that the “rules specifically state the teams should be boys or girls only.”

Parents and coaches decided to let the children vote on how they would proceed. When asked if they wanted to “play the game without the two young ladies on the team,” or “stay as a team as you have all year,” all eleven players voted to keep the girls on the team and forfeit the season.

Assistant coach Keisha Martel, whose daughter plays with the Chargers, reiterated the consequences of their decision. “It doesn’t matter!” one boy replied.

Watch the vote in action below: