Boy Fights To Stay On Yonkers High School Girls Volleyball Team

YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Jensen Daniel loves volleyball, but there is no boys team at Yonkers High School.

So last year the girls team invited him to join them, CBS 2's Lou Young reported, and he got the dispensation to play.

This year, the state is changing its mind - ordering the 17-year-old sidelined from the game because they say he is too strong.

"I didn't ask for any of this. It was just given to me. An opportunity came and I went for it," Daniel told Young. "Now they're taking it away, which I think is unfair."

Daniel and his teammates bonded last season, and now they say they're like family. The girls on the team and the school's principal all want him to stay.

"We feel that it's unfair, and that Jensen should be given a chance to play on this team because we love him," said team captain Tara Herrera.

"Our team was bumped up a class, meaning that we have to perform and compete against a much more difficult set of teams, and that decision was based on the fact that this young man was allowed to play," said Principal Jane Wemuth. "Now that that decision is made, he's not allowed to play. It makes me wonder what else is afoot."

"At the end of the day, you make the change or you follow the crowd," said Daniel. "So I want to be the person who makes the change and inspires people."

The school district is appealing the decision and hoping for a reprieve, Young reported.

The Education Department refused to comment.

Daniel, meanwhile, continues to work out with his teammates but will sit on the sidelines for their upcoming game.

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