HS coach - pregnant player issue

news about a local HS volleyball/soccer coach.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Pregnant-Volleyball-Player-Serves-Complaint-to-FWISD.html

[quote="springzephyr"]news about a local HS volleyball/soccer coach.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Pregnant-Volleyball-Player-Serves-Complaint-to-FWISD.html[/quote]

I'm on the coaches and school admin side on this one in this day of the sue happy society....

Story did not read as if the coach kicked her off the team, he only requested a doctor's release from the pregnant mom to be before returning to play.

This is a catch 22...

If the ISD allowed her to play and she lost the fetus due to hard hit or whatever she could make up...she could go after the school and coach. By the coach requesting a release from doctor, this coach is covering his and the ISD butts. If a doctor gives her a release, that takes the liability off the ISD.

Check out the news story...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=4693739

Aswan wrote:This is a sexual discrimination issue with potential constitutional underpinnings. The actual merit of the case will have to be adjudicated. A central point that will have to be established, as is the case with all claims of unequal treatment, is that of consistency and fairness. To wit, with what frequency and consistency and under what conditions has school district and their agents, in this case the coach, required pregnant males to have a doctor's approval before actively engaging in competitive sports.

Great point - often wondered the same thing about the parking arrangements outside the various babystuff vendors. The males did get the stretchy pants equality established, however.
Aswan, I miss your old picture - it was a much better visual when I would read your posts (reminded me of an old custodian from my elementary school - pictured him sharing his gospel).

Aswan wrote:This is a sexual discrimination issue with potential constitutional underpinnings. The actual merit of the case will have to be adjudicated. A central point that will have to be established, as is the case with all claims of unequal treatment, is that of consistency and fairness. To wit, with what frequency and consistency and under what conditions has school district and their agents, in this case the coach, required pregnant males to have a doctor's approval before actively engaging in competitive sports.

I truly back the ISD and the coach but it will come down to semantics. If the coach did keep her out for pregnancy reasons only than he did violate federal law. If he kept her out for an unspecified medical condition then no he did not violate federal law. The coach did request for medical clearance, just like any coach would no matter what the medical condition may be, broken bone, concussion etc.. A medical is not gender specific, unless the medical condition is and the request was for that specific medical condition. It is all semantics. Parent seems to be more concerned about lost court time effecting a possible scholarship, I think the pregnancy would effect a possible scholarship more. A halfway decent lawyer should be able beat the lawsuit for the district.

What about strictly a team performance issue? Doesn't the coach have the liberty to chose his most effective starting team? What if the girls would hesitate rushing into an area in which the pregnant girl was standing for fear of hurting the fetus? That type of hesitancy costs you games.

If the physical handicap restrictions are now fair game, what does a coach do when an armless kid wants to play volleyball, or a kid without legs wants to play soccer? What about when a mentally retarded adult wishes to be a heart surgeon?

And, who doubts for a second that when the girl did get jabbed in the belly by an inadvertent elbow, that the mother would be suing the coach and the district for endangering the fetus.

I hate to say it, but this country deserves every bit of grief it is getting. We are just to stupid as a society to deserve any better.

So does this girl sue the referee who lets her play in a game after she gets hit in the stomach and miscarries?
Does she sue the opposing player that spikes the ball that hits her in the belly or causes her to dive on the ground after the ball and makes her miscarry?
I mean, the refs are charged with player safety right? and the other team does try to win the game right?
Imagine if this were a soccer player that was subbed into a game and the ball hit her in the gut.......not a good thing.

Aswan wrote:This is a sexual discrimination issue with potential constitutional underpinnings. The actual merit of the case will have to be adjudicated. A central point that will have to be established, as is the case with all claims of unequal treatment, is that of consistency and fairness. To wit, with what frequency and consistency and under what conditions has school district and their agents, in this case the coach, required pregnant males to have a doctor's approval before actively engaging in competitive sports.

That is the funniest thing I have read in this forum!

Jedi Mind Tricks wrote:
I hate to say it, but this country deserves every bit of grief it is getting. We are just to stupid as a society to deserve any better.

It is not the country as a whole. I work in the school system and this is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the attention as the other wheels are also falling off. I have been in schools where girls get pregnant and gracefully drops sports altogether and others come back after birth. It is just a small segment of school age girls. An average 5A HS has about 2000 students and in the worst years you will have 20 pregnant students that is 1% of the total school. Of those 20 it will only effect 3-4 female athletes. In no way do I minimize teen pregnancy but unless the parent(s) want the attention and/or compensation, the problem is usually swept under the table.

Blame the individuals not society as a whole.

Well the first problem is the teenage girl being pregnant. Maybe the parents should have been a little more proactive before she became pregnant. Now that she is I think the coach and school should have her get a Dr. note. The same phsycotic parents pushing for her to play would be the same ones suing if she got hurt. Wow. I have a no good grades no play policy for my kids. I wonder what the policy is for pregnancy?

go99 wrote:Well the first problem is the teenage girl being pregnant. Maybe the parents should have been a little more proactive before she became pregnant. Now that she is I think the coach and school should have her get a Dr. note. The same phsycotic parents pushing for her to play would be the same ones suing if she got hurt. Wow. I have a no good grades no play policy for my kids. I wonder what the policy is for pregnancy?

The doctor's note is the main issue. The coach wanted a doctor's note to clear her to play. The sex discrimination lawsuit is based on this request because she is pregnant and the request cannot be a gender specific request. Since males cannot get pregnant to my knowledge, the coaches request violates federal law. I feel the parents are nut jobs because what self respecting parent would want it nationally known that their teenage daughter was not only pregnant but also suing the school dristrict for showing concern for their daughter.

True10 wrote:

go99 wrote:Well the first problem is the teenage girl being pregnant. Maybe the parents should have been a little more proactive before she became pregnant. Now that she is I think the coach and school should have her get a Dr. note. The same phsycotic parents pushing for her to play would be the same ones suing if she got hurt. Wow. I have a no good grades no play policy for my kids. I wonder what the policy is for pregnancy?

The doctor's note is the main issue. The coach wanted a doctor's note to clear her to play. The sex discrimination lawsuit is based on this request because she is pregnant and the request cannot be a gender specific request. Since males cannot get pregnant to my knowledge, the coaches request violates federal law. I feel the parents are nut jobs because what self respecting parent would want it nationally known that their teenage daughter was not only pregnant but also suing the school dristrict for showing concern for their daughter.

My first thought when watching the news video story was....that mom is a nut case ..

also my thoughts "nut case". Could they claim that it is not gender specific but condition specific? Much like concussions in many sports. You can get bumps, bruises and knocks and still play. Get a concussion and you have to be cleared by a doctor. Pregnancy being the condition that requires a doctors note. Anyone who becomes pregnant must be cleared to play regardless of gender. It is silly but seems to fall in line with with the thinking. Much like maternity leave is now not gender specific.

True10 wrote:

Jedi Mind Tricks wrote:
I hate to say it, but this country deserves every bit of grief it is getting. We are just to stupid as a society to deserve any better.

It is not the country as a whole. I work in the school system and this is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the attention as the other wheels are also falling off. I have been in schools where girls get pregnant and gracefully drops sports altogether and others come back after birth. It is just a small segment of school age girls. An average 5A HS has about 2000 students and in the worst years you will have 20 pregnant students that is 1% of the total school. Of those 20 it will only effect 3-4 female athletes. In no way do I minimize teen pregnancy but unless the parent(s) want the attention and/or compensation, the problem is usually swept under the table.

Blame the individuals not society as a whole.

Gonna differ with you. If we were a normal society, this type of situation would never happen. We are so "politically correct" and insipid weaklings when it comes to electing and appointing people with a backbone who actually protect our society, welfare, and tax dollars. Before our life is over, some nut-job male student will get impregnated using taxpayer dollars, and sue to play volleyball with girls. Of course, by then our school boards and State will be so afraid of being sued for violating some new transgender Constitutional protection, that they will probably fire the white heterosexual male that was accidentally hired to be the coach if they opposed the nut-job's request.

protect our society from what? Relax a bit, just because Rush and Glen Beck say it doesn't mean that it's true. Remember watch Fox soccer channel not Fox news

Jedi Mind Tricks wrote:

True10 wrote:

Jedi Mind Tricks wrote:
I hate to say it, but this country deserves every bit of grief it is getting. We are just to stupid as a society to deserve any better.

It is not the country as a whole. I work in the school system and this is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the attention as the other wheels are also falling off. I have been in schools where girls get pregnant and gracefully drops sports altogether and others come back after birth. It is just a small segment of school age girls. An average 5A HS has about 2000 students and in the worst years you will have 20 pregnant students that is 1% of the total school. Of those 20 it will only effect 3-4 female athletes. In no way do I minimize teen pregnancy but unless the parent(s) want the attention and/or compensation, the problem is usually swept under the table.

Blame the individuals not society as a whole.

Gonna differ with you. If we were a normal society, this type of situation would never happen. We are so "politically correct" and insipid weaklings when it comes to electing and appointing people with a backbone who actually protect our society, welfare, and tax dollars. Before our life is over, some nut-job male student will get impregnated using taxpayer dollars, and sue to play volleyball with girls. Of course, by then our school boards and State will be so afraid of being sued for violating some new transgender Constitutional protection, that they will probably fire the white heterosexual male that was accidentally hired to be the coach if they opposed the nut-job's request.

In a normal society, every individual should have the right to question authority and demand equal treatment, I dont necesarely agree with the lawsuit in this case, but I do agree that the student has rights and she should be heard.

In a normal society, every individual should have the right to question authority and demand equal treatment, I dont necesarely agree with the lawsuit in this case, but I do agree that the student has rights and she should be heard.


Exactly my point. These things are more complicated than sound-bite analysts would have you believe. Thankfully, we have left the days of the scarlet letter behind us. In this case, the coach had no right to “out” her pregnancy. She should have enjoyed the rights of privacy, at least until she exercised her alternate right to make an announcement on ESPN or, optionally, eventually yielded the pretense of hiding a basketball under her jersey. Then, and only then, should reference have been made to her non-gender-specific medical condition, and such references should have been made solely for the purposes of making reasonable accommodation. Possibly, a Lamaze mat could have been set up in one corner for her.

What the heck is a normal society? I will not take Eden or utopia as an answer.

True10 wrote:What the heck is a normal society? I will not take Eden or utopia as an answer.

It's a society where the bling rules and people with the bling are able to change the rules to their liking and get 2 teams ... - sorry different thread.

The German wrote:

True10 wrote:What the heck is a normal society? I will not take Eden or utopia as an answer.

It's a society where the bling rules and people with the bling are able to change the rules to their liking and get 2 teams ... - sorry different thread.

The German wrote:

True10 wrote:What the heck is a normal society? I will not take Eden or utopia as an answer.

It's a society where the bling rules and people with the bling are able to change the rules to their liking and get 2 teams ... - sorry different thread.

Lol. Good one

go99 wrote:protect our society from what? Relax a bit, just because Rush and Glen Beck say it doesn't mean that it's true. Remember watch Fox soccer channel not Fox news

Not meaning to offend, its just that in the trenches I've seen too many good people put on a frying pan by some lunatic w/ a baseless claim. And, the frequency and outrageous nature of the suits seems to have no limit. What if you or one of yours was on the hot seat for something this dumb? People have lives, mortgages, children, and years of reputation at stake. Not going to quibble with you about that America, you can have it. Just leave the other one for me and mine.

I agree we have screwed our own society. A case of spilled hot coffee leads to a case against Mcdonalds. The same thing goes before the courts in England and the judge throws it out stating, "everyone knows coffee is hot" Personal responsibility has been replaced by who can I blame and how much can I get paid.

True10 wrote:What the heck is a normal society? I will not take Eden or utopia as an answer.

No, we are for sure describing an Orwellian dystopia.