Ms. Nared vs. The Hoop

I heard about this story earlier this week and I was torn as to how I actually felt about the situation. I think its unfair for her to be suddenly taken away from her team and from the league regardless of the reasoning. Her teammates enjoy playing with her, and she for the most part enjoys playing with them, granted it brings the team wins, but she is a part of a TEAM.

Before she played for the boys league she was making things even worse in the girls league, and maybe you gotta weigh the severity of each situation, but I think it would be a lot more disheartening for young girls to be completely owned by 1 person than it would be for a league of boys to be owned by a girl, and her team.

Either way I worry about her now, and what indeed she will do next, I agree AAU is her best bet, and should be involved in it as soon as she can. I’d hate for our home to lose this talent, but she may be better suited playing somewhere else.

She is also playing ball for a non-travelling high-school team (e.g. only home games). See Tom Hallman Jr.’s story on O-Live (http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2008/05/beaverton_girl_told_to_stop_pl.html). So she is getting challenged. However, it might be awkward for a 12-year old girl to be hanging out with 16-18 year old girls since there is a huge difference in maturity between those ages.

Personally, I was struck by her goal: to play in the NBA (not WNBA…NBA). I really hope she can do it.

I really want one of those “TC” jerseys. are they available in any way?

I don’t know much about any of this situation, but I do know that many 12 year old girls are physically more developed.

I think she should be allowed to play with the boys. It only makes sense to group kids by ability, all other factors being equal.

I think the residents of Vida, Oregon might quarrel with you on that one, Dave. In the 1920s there was a girl named Gladys Minnie who shredded the nets for four years against the likes of Springfield High and Mohawk High. She was 5’10” in 7th grade and was already the star player on the Vida High School girls team. She averaged over 40 points per game during her high school career. She scored 104 points in one game. Once when the Vida High School boys team needed a player they almost let her play, but at the last minute school officials wouldn’t allow it.

I say it’s time to right the wrong in Gladys Minnie’s name. Let Ms. Nared play in the boys league. For heavens sake, it’s time to break down all the barriers between people in our society. Truth is, women are not much different from men, and the differences between boys and girls are even smaller. A girl who is physically able to play against boys should automatically be welcome to do so. Let her fulfill her dreams. If she dominates the boys then it will be a valuable lesson for them.

I coach a U-14 girls soccer team and some of our most productive scrimmages are against a U-14 boys team. My team always gets dominated by the boys but my players learn a lot and they don’t care in the least that they lose. They always look forward to playing. I think the experience is good for the boys too because it shows them that girls can be rough and tumble too. I think the boys have more respect for girls because of the experience. And both boys and girls learn how to see each other as HUMANS and not just as “boys” or “girls.”

She should be learning womanly skills, like sewing, not basketball.

Someone should be able to hit that pitch.

She should definitely be still allowed in the league. It is the most competetive at that age group, and the parents who complained should be ashamed. The reason why we entered that league was to play against the best, it shouldn’t matter what sex they are. Yea she isn’t getting a lot of competition at that level, and maybe should move up, but that should be completely her decision, it shouldn’t be forced on her by the hoop. We probably had the 2nd and 3rd best players in the league on our team, and she completely schooled us.

Limitations should be because of ability, not gender. The Hoops has shown clear discrimination and a lack of vision.

She should be out of that league, at a league that is of a higher challenge level. She should NOT be yanked out in the middle of the season unless she chooses to leave due to the fact she’s already bonded with the team and she’s already been allowed to play.

it’s possible that rules won’t let her play outside of her age bracket, and that should be changed/modified.

Frankly, when I read the article I felt like smacking some people and I hope that there’s a lot of noise and action about this.

There’s another article about a girl who had the highest GPA over her three years of high school and was graduating early. However, school officials decided she couldn’t be valedictorian and get the state scholarship because she didn’t finish out four years as required by the school district (not the state that gives out the scholarship, but the state leaves it up to the school district to determine how scholarships will be given). I read that article going… wow that’s messed up. then I saw the picture of the girl, and she’s middle eastern or indian… then I saw the state. Texas. I decided they’re not just idiots, they’re racists. It’s amazing the different excuses that people have been using this year for their racism.

I find it interesting that various forms of discrimination are being show cased this year, or at least are coming to light. I think it’s good to acknowledge and talk about them and bring them out of their closets where they can be addressed.

I support her goal of joining the NBA, and I hope other teams pass up on her so we can snag her.

I’m curious, does anyone know NBA rules in regards to gender or species? (I’m thinking of the movie gus where a mule was allowed to be the kicker on a football team. silly movie, but I’ve always wondered…)

It sounds like a lot of you support having a woman play on a man’s team, but what would you say if a man wanted to join a woman’s team? I bet there would be a lot more pushback. I think teams should be separated by skill or height or something real, instead of gender which depending on how you define it is either a socially created concept, or else just completely irrelevant.

Excellent job in this piece. You hit it right on the head.

in a mixed league or in a women’s league. The idea that men should play with women under all circumstances is a mistaken one however. This is a boy’s league, she’s not a boy. End of story.