Don't you love how the coach is automatically accused of being unfair? I'm thinking that it's possible that Mackenzie's been benched because the coach doesn't want to risk her health or that of her unborn child. Or perhaps he decided that Mackenzie's condition would limit her ability on the volleyball court. I seriously doubt that the coach based his decision on something like, "Wow. One of my players is a friggin' slut. Better sit her ass on the bench to teach her a lesson."
And I just love how Mackenzie's mom, Brenda Horton, is handling the whole thing. Rather than assume some of the responsibility for her daughter's actions, she's taking a stand against tyranny and injustice toward unmarried pregnant teenage athletes everywhere. She's quoted as saying, "My goal is for [the school] to include and nurture pregnant athletes."
Include and nurture pregnant athletes? Is it THAT big of a problem? Do we have legions of knocked-up softball, volleyball, and field hockey players nationwide that are being oppressed? How exactly would a coach "nurture" his pregnant players?
"All right team, I understand that some of you girls are not pregnant right now. In order to be sensitive to the needs of your child-bearing teammates, I'm asking you all to go out this weekend and find a suitable young man to impregnate you. You didn't hear it from me, but there's a killer frat party at the Gamma House on Saturday night. Go get 'em, girls!"
Opposing coaches could develop a whole strategy for playing against a team of moms-to-be. Hit it to the girl whose contractions are only two minutes apart, or schedule games for nine in the morning to take advantage of morning sickness. How hard could it be to defeat a team of preggos, regardless?
There's another potential problem that Mackenzie's team faces, though. What happens if they're playing against some Catholic school in the Bible Belt who's coach is one of those "right to life" folks? I can see it now. The opposing coach claims that Mackenzie's unborn child is in fact a life, and as such, should count as one of the players on the court. Arlington Heights would have to pull one of its other players off the court, essentially putting them one player down. I'm assuming, of course, that the fetus would be ineffective as a volleyball player.
Look, Mackenzie, here's the deal. You made the decision to have unprotected sex and, surprise surprise, you wound up pregnant. That means you're going to have to give up a few things for the next nine months, and volleyball is probably one of them. No one's trying to infringe upon your rights or discriminate against you. Since you and your mom obviously place your high school volleyball career above the safety of both you and your child, you should be grateful that your coach cares enough to step up and assume that responsibility. And let's be completely honest here, the minute you dive for a ball and miscarry your child, your mother's gonna be calling a lawyer and filing a lawsuit against your coach, your school, and anybody else she can think of. Just go home, relax, take care of yourself, and I hope you have a happy and healthy childhood. Volleyball can wait.
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32 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more! What kind of mother is first of all Okay with the fact that her TEENAGER is pregant let alone pissed off that now she can't play volleyball? When did it become cute for teens to bear children? When I was in highschool we had an actual daycare for teen moms to bring their babies in so they could attend school. I think while it was progressive (15 years ago) it gave the wrong image; it's ok to have babies before you can legally drink alcohol or vote. This is so NOT cool with me!
Great post. You cut through the bullshit and to the point very well. As always.
Maybe she should sign up for football instead. Then she could fight for her right to play with the boys at the same time. You know... jostle things up a bit more. Plus, when her water breaks it will just soak into the ground instead of making the floor all slippery. Much safer that way.
Chris Rock does a bit about ADD. He says "When we were kids, no one was ADD, some kids were just dumb!" LOL
Did anyone ever consider the fact that maybe the girl just sucks at volleyball? LOL!
Bravo! I couldn't have said it better.
People and their reasons for suing often amaze me.
Crazy...
So true; those are exactly the ones who would sue the school if she was injured!
Volleyball will probably have to wait a long, long, LONG time.
Unless of course they put up a stink about how newborns aren't allowed on the bus for the away games.
Yeesh.
Gee, that's a local story for me and I have not even heard about it. BTW, this IS the Bible Belt which makes it even more ironic.
A friend told me about a local Catholic high school that was allowing a pregnant girl to continue to attend classes along with the "baby daddy" who has gone on to another girlfriend. Ironically (no, really), my friend's name is Horton. No relation.
It's a crazy world.
I guess that guy totally spiked her.
Ummmmm, what to say?
1) I am a Texan and WTH?
2) I am a woman, a mother, someone who's been around the baby block...WTH? Everytime you move (or jump or spike), you pee. It hurts to walk towards the end, let alone sleep; can't imagine jumping and diving on a court. And, girlie, what about that baby? Volleyball IS a contact sport, as in your body contacts the floor when it slams the floor as you DIVE to get the ball.
3) I am a teacher...again, WTH? When an athlete has a caste or other physical impediment HE/SHE IS BENCHED. There is no belly padding for preggo girls in any sport.
This is just another example of the ME Generation/Generation X raising children to have a complete sense of entitlement for anything they want. There is no such thing as sacrifice. Wait til that baby gets there! Who are they gonna sue when Lil' Miss Entitled is too tired to shower and have fun because the baby expects to be cared for? God because he is the creator of all life?
Again, WTH?
When a player has a physical injury or condition that could be worsened by playing sports, you bench 'em. Simple.
My first thought was "how far along is she?" but then I read this, from the article,
"the school's athletic coordinator ordered her off the team until she could provide a note from her doctor after he found out she was pregnant."
So they're not saying, "You can't play because you're pregnant."
They're saying, "We want you to have a doctor give you the okay, and then we'll let you play."
Sounds completely reasonable to me.
Interesting. I live within the district of that high school, though I did not know of this story before reading your blog.
There was a complaint that I thought was valid, as it surely violates the student's rights and seems unethical: "After she got the note, the 17-year-old found that in her absence coach Jack Warren informed her teammates that she is expecting, Good Morning America reports." I think the coach was incorrect in informing the teammates that the girl was pregnant. Justifiably, that should be addressed. I suspect the school was placed at some potential liability for that action. He could have easily given a vague answer for her absence from practice.
As for her playing while pregnant, that seems absurd. I wonder why the coach even asked for doctor's release. This seems like a simple NO, irrespective of the doctor's view. It's not as if she was on the debate team, participating in chess club or into archery. Volleyball is highly active and there are risks of injury to all players. Slams into the floor seem particularly relevant indeed, not to mention spiked balls.
LAWSUIT? Why should/would the school allow the girl to continue to play? If anything, I would hope that the mother's lawsuit makes a change that results in the school policy and/or state law more becoming clear in prohibiting such risky activity. It seems reasonable to me to prohibit pregnant students from playing school sports for the safety of themselves and their babies, and to protect the school from liability.
Also, it sounds as if she WAS allowed to play, but her playing time was "drastically reduced." This is worthy of a lawsuit? Doesn't the coach have the right to determine who plays and how much, regardless of medical state? Do students have a right to a particular amount of court time?
People never fail to astound me. I've watched some volleyball games at the school where my DH teaches, and they go all out. I wince and cringe every time I see one of those girls plow into the court after diving for the ball. I can't imagine how many bruises they get in a game. How in the world is a pregnant girl going to be able to play safely?? I guess they don't care much about the safety of the child (the unborn one).
first lesson in parenthood for this girl. it's not all about you. sometimes for the sake of your child you miss out on things you used to do for fun. time to grow up, miss.
Hey, new reader here. Love this post. I see this crap everyday. I work for a post-secondary education that was sued because we expelled a student for academic dishonesty. My neck hurts because I spend most of the day shaking my head at the stupidity of people.
So yeah, great post. I'll be following now.
Way to go, Mom! Another great lesson taught. Forget all the valuable life lessons your daughter may have learned...just make sure you continue to catch her falls so that she never learns the consequences of her actions! As a long time educator, I never cease to be amazed!
You are SO right. I hope you're sending a link to this post to the girl and her mom. Neither of them are putting the child first (the unborn child, that is), and that says more about them than anything that's coming out of their mouths.
What is so mind boggling to me is her desire to play. When I was pregnant you could catch my fat ass on the couch eating Krispy Kremes by the half dozen.
I guess that means if the ball hits her in the stomach, flies over the net and lands within regulation lines it could technically be considered a point huh? Then again how will they know if it was touched illegally? Maybe the baby's feet were pointing upward. That's a tough call. Perhaps it would be better for her to just go home as you have suggested. Stories like this make me question the sanity of humans more & more every day. Sigh.
So if the fetus counts as an extra player, can they be penalized for too many players on the court?
Seriously, though, I'm sick of the fact that no one takes responsibility for their own actions. It's going to be a huge shock to the girl to discover that her life probably is going to have to change a little. You know, what with becoming a mom and all.
Simple solution. Bench the boyfriend too.
Yeah, what corticoWhat said - bench his penis!
LOL @ Samsmama's comment!
Mackenzie really is a slut, though. I saw her name and number on the bathroom wall at Quizno's.
I'm thinking Mom does not want to be a grandma yet but wants someone else to take care of that for her...
fantastic post! And frankly, after hearing what her mother is doing, I'm not surprised at the girl's stupidity.
Nowadays everybody whining about something. What's wrong with this world?
Oh, for crying out loud. I'm not sure which is worse -- kids whining about being benched, or parents who are willing to go to court to support this whining.
WOW - great post! I am glad you put this out there- although reading this really pisses me off! I am a Gen X'r- but one of the first I guess you can say. I hate that I can be classified with this pansy ass little twits who expect everything to go theirway and when they screw up, they feel they canblame other people. you got yourself knocked up, deal with it... I did.
Well written as always! Amazing! I really like how you always can shed light and wisdom in everyday life tales and still weave a cord of humor into it!
And people seem to want to sue for everything these days...sigh! Lol!
Ughh...i officially declare I will never coach women's volleyball from here on out
Wow. What a douche bag for a mom! When I was a tattoo artist, the laws in New York were ridiculously lax. Basically, if you were over 18 and not pregnant, have at it. Sure enough, about once a month I'd have some jackass pregnant teen come in wanting a tattoo. And of all things, it was usually of the future father's name. Wow. First off, I refused to tattoo names. Period. Under any and all circumstances. I was an artist, not a secretary. I created art; I wasn't there to dictate (odd how times have changed). Regardless. Two: IT'S ILLEGAL. To which they'd ALWAYS say "What if I paid you twice as much?" Wow. After doing a crap load of research, I found out the law wasn't put there in case of infection. Nope. The stress the body endures while getting a tattoo can cause a miscarriage. Once I started explaining this, most of the girls went on their way. I swear I had one girl though who actually replied like this: "But I trust you." ??? I imagine the same ignorance fell out of her face a couple seconds before conception. To my knowledge, that was the only time in my life I verbally assaulted a pregnant woman until she cried. If your body can't handle the stress of sitting down and having needles stabbed just 7 layers into your skin, how the hell is it gonna handle being a part of a volleyball game? I hope she miscarries (yup, I just said that). What kind of life would that child have with her mother AND grandmother as retarded as they are?
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