LAWTON, Okla. -- With his bright red metal walker before him like a shield, 9-year-old Ryan Taylor joined his soccer teammates Saturday after winning a court battle to get onto the field.
Ryan, who has cerebral palsy, came in early in the game and played to the end, smiling a lot and getting one good kick at the ball."I played three quarters, I'm tired," he said, panting, following the game that ended in a 0-0 tie.
The controversy emerged last month when the local youth soccer league barred Ryan from playing, saying his metal walker posed a safety risk. It took a lawsuit and a federal judge's ruling Friday to lift the ban.
"I find it very remote that there could be some injury (from the walker)," U.S. District Judge David Russell said.
Attorneys for Ryan's parents had argued that the field the Lawton Evening Optimist Soccer Association leases from the Fort Sill Army post was a public facility under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so the league was obligated to accommodate Ryan.
League officials feared other children could trip over the walker and hurt Ryan or themselves. They offered other accommodations, but all stopped short of allowing the third-grader to play on his own with the four-wheeled device.
In his ruling, the judge recommended more padding for the walker and suggested the league have an adult stand near Ryan during the game.
Ryan almost missed his big chance Saturday morning. Referees inspecting the walker determined it needed more cushioning. His father, Tim, rushed home and returned just as the game was getting under way with another roll of red duct tape.
The controversy seemed secondary to Ryan.
"I just wanted to play with my friends," he said.
The ball seldom came his way Saturday, but when it did, Ryan was all smiles.
His tongue wagged as he chased the ball around and watched expectantly as his teammates on the Pioneer Park Thunder faced off with the Flower Mound Bobcats.
An adult referee shadowed Ryan to ensure safety. Russell required that an adult be nearby but deemed league suggestions inappropriate that called for an adult carrying Ryan or one or two teammates assisting him.
The referee talked to Ryan on the field but didn't have to help him. The ball bounced off Ryan's walker once. He got a kick in near the end of the game. Otherwise, he spent most of his time watching.
When the game ended, he joined his teammates in slapping hands with the opponents, a few of whom awkwardly approached Ryan and skipped away without giving him a high-five. But others greeted him as he got his hand up from the walker handle.
He was last in line as the team ran through a makeshift arch of parents holding their arms up. Ryan got a hug from two men at the end of the line.
Stephanie Pendergrass, a soccer mom, game Ryan a banner that read "Let Him Play" signed by supporters. She also gave Ryan a ribbon and a certificate.
The game was the last of the fall season. Russell's ruling doesn't apply to the spring season, and league officials haven't said if they'll take a similar stance against the walker later. But JoAnne Taylor said she and her husband will keep fighting for their son, whom they adopted at birth.
"It was worth it because Ryan had fun," JoAnne Taylor said. "I'm sorry it had to go all the way there (to court), but I wouldn't do anything differently."