Girls basketball team that didn't get trophy wasn't snubbed, will still be recognized by city anyway
No, a fifth-grade basketball team wasn't deprived of trophies because its players are girls. It didn't get trophies because it was an elite team playing in a rec league tournament.
The city council in Hoover, Alabama, plans to recognize the team Monday night, anyway, along with a boys team that didn't get trophies for the same reason, following a furor sparked by a parent's Facebook post claiming the girls were victims of discrimination and misogyny.
"The two 'elite' teams that won their grade brackets have been invited to attend the Hoover City Council meeting ... so that they can be recognized for their recent victories," the city said in a statement.
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What happened?
A fifth-grade girls team in Hoover won the championship of a fifth-grade boys rec league Feb. 28 but didn't receive trophies like other teams did. One of the players' mother, Jayme Mashayekh, expressed her outrage on Facebook, saying the girls were short-changed simply because they were girls.
"They were told before the championship that they could play in it but if they won they wouldn’t be allowed to have the trophy. `Excuse me? What?' What did they do to get disqualified? Did they not pay their dues? Did they not play up a level in competition? Oh, it’s because they’re GIRLS?!?!" Mashayekh wrote.
"These 5th grade girls played their hearts out, left it all on the floor and battled their male counterparts only to be told, `No, I’m sorry you don’t count.'”
The post was picked up by several national media outlets, drawing condemnation for what appeared to be blatant discrimination and misogyny.
There was more to the story, however.
Rec league rules
As any parent knows, there are two types of teams in youth sports: elite and rec. Players on elite teams are hand-selected and often play together over several years. Rec teams are more of a free-for-all. Anyone, regardless of their skill level or experience, can sign up and be assigned to a team.
Needless to say, elite teams are usually going to have an advantage over a rec team. Which is why Hoover Parks and Recreation Department has a rule reserving trophies for rec teams.
"For many years, HPRD has allowed 'elite' teams based in Hoover to participate in tournaments it conducts. Those 'elite' teams are not sought out by HPRD, but rather they come to HPRD and ask to participate," the city of Hoover said in its statement.
"If an 'elite' team participates in an HPRD youth tournament and makes it to the championship round, they are not eligible to receive any awards/trophies. Only regular recreation teams are eligible for awards/trophies. Coaches of the 'elite' teams are made aware of and agree to these rules at the time they request to participate."
The girls team that won the boys tournament is an elite team. It's been together for three years, Mashayekh said.
That, the city said, is why the girls didn't get trophies. Because they play on an elite team. Not because they're girls.
"HPRD has never treated any team differently based on gender or any other factor, except for the 'elite' status of some teams," the city statement said.
The girls team wasn't even the only squad that ran headlong into this rule this year. An elite boys team won its championship and its players didn't get trophies, either.
Even with one of the team's players being the son of a city official.
So now what?
Mashayekh updated her post to say city officials had reached out to her daughter's team to "make things right for the girls." That's apparently in reference to the elite teams being invited to Monday night's city council meeting.
The city also said it was reviewing its policies to "ensure competition and recognition procedures are fair to all participants and that those procedures are more clearly understood."
Especially by the parents.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Girls basketball team to get recognized, though sexism claims off-base
