KENILWORTH -- A Catholic school that expelled a seventh grade student whose family sued in an attempt to get her a spot on the boys basketball team was acting in accordance with school policy, Archdiocese officials said Thursday.

"I am just in total shock right now," said Scott Phillips, who received a letter Wednesday saying that his two daughters, Sydney and Kaitlyn, were no longer welcome at St. Theresa's School in Kenilworth.

The possibility of the girls getting thrown out,"never even crossed my mind. It's over joining a basketball team," he said. "I am so disappointed."

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, said Sydney's parents signed an acknowledgement in August of the school's policy, which clearly states that legal action against the school will result in students' expulsion.

Scott Phillips

"If a parent implicates St. Theresa School in a legal matter, or names St. Theresa School as a defendant in a civil matter, the parent/guardian will be requested to remove their children immediately from the school," St. Theresa's handbook reads.

Chuck Carella, an attorney representing the Archdiocese and the school, said Sydney's parents should have anticipated the move.

"They signed off on it," he said, referring to the handbook.

Sydney Phillips, an unassuming, shy seventh grader, said Wednesday she wasn't looking to be the face of a movement when her school said it wasn't having a girls basketball team this year due to a lack of interest.

"I just want to play," she said.

Girl who sued to play thrown out of school

When St. Theresa's denied Sydney a chance to play on the school's boys basketball team, the 12-year-old's family sued, saying that they didn't want money, but hoped a judge would force the St. Theresa's to let her play.

But, on Jan. 5, a Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the school, a decision her family has decided to appeal.

The family learned of her expulsion as she found camaraderie on the court Wednesday night, with members of the WNBA's New York Liberty team. 

The team invited Sydney, her family, and one of her former teammates to the the Liberty's practice facility in Tarrytown, N.Y. after seeing publicity about her fight with the school. 

Getting a tour of the facility, and getting the chance to play with the pros, might help boost her confidence, players said.

"When I grew up, I played with nothing but boys," said Brittany Boyd, point guard for the New York Liberty.

"I think that's why we're here...to bring her in and still encourage her."

Sydney, her younger sister Kaitlyn, and her former teammate Grace, ran drills with players Boyd and Sugar Rodgers, Assistant Coach Herb Williams, and the team's Director of Player Development, former WNBA great Teresa Weatherspoon.

The girls got tips and pointers from them. Sydney even got her own personalized Liberty jersey.

After dropping off her four-year-old son at St. Theresa's on Thursday morning, Elaina Ditillo said the school was wrong to tell Sydney and Kaitlyn not to return. But she questioned whether the situation was more complicated than it seemed.

"What their parents did to sue the archdiocese shouldn't have bearing on their education here," Ditillo said of the Phillips girls. "But there has to be more to the story."

Ditillo said the Phillips family shouldn't have filed the lawsuit in the first place. Funding at Catholic schools is limited, she said, and a student who cares deeply about playing a sport should go to a public school with more resources.

"It wasn't like she (Sydney) was prevented from being on a girls basketball team," Ditillo said. "There was no girls basketball team."

Jennifer Gentile, whose daughters are in kindergarten and second grade at St. Theresa's, said she hoped the school would refund the Phillips' pre-paid tuition, which she said would cost more than $1,100 per month for two students. The school handbook does not specify whether tuition is refunded when students are asked to leave.

Gentile added that she thought the school should have let Sydney play on the boys team in the first place.

"You're teaching the kids that it's okay to be divided by gender," Gentile said.

Though the appeals process is still making its way through the courts, Phillips said Wednesday night he was not sure if the family would continue fighting, or if they would try to have the girls readmitted to school.

Either way, he said he hoped his daughter would walk away from the highs and lows of the night learning an important lesson about perseverance from the Liberty players.

"That's what we want her to see," he said. "Hard work pays off."

Sydney Phillips at the NY Liberty

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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