Boys' basketball team disqualified for girl on roster

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- A 10-year-old basketball player whose team was disqualified from an all-boy tournament because she is a girl says that talent, not gender, should determine who plays.

"I think it's crazy because, if you're good enough, you should be able to play," Kymora Johnson said of her team's disqualification.

This is not the first time Johnson has competed in the National Travel Basketball Association's National Championship tournament. She played with her team, the Charlottesville Cavaliers, the previous two years, but this year a new rule was added saying you must play with your own gender.

The team had won five games at this year's tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and thought they were moving onto the semi-finals, ABC News reports. But then they were told that they couldn't continue because they broke the rules.

"You're taking away from the kids that worked so hard all year to get to this point," said Joe Mallory, the team's head coach.

The coaches said they didn't know about the new rule, but the NTBA released a statement to ABC News saying that the team was told Johnson couldn't play before the tournament began.

"The head coach was notified that girls cannot play on a boys team for our National Championship," NTBA president John Whitley said. "He acknowledged this and said no problem to us. This was done during the team check-in process before any games were played. It is also posted on our website."

The NTBA said that it does not allow mixed-gender teams to compete at the national level, as they have both a boys' and girls' tournament.

Kymora's mother, Jessica Thomas-Johnson, sought the help of attorneys and started a social media campaign to let Kymora play with the boys.

"The Cavaliers are her home and this is more than just a team," she told ABC News. "This is a family."