Sexist Soccer Scandal?

Friday, March 27, 2009

filed under: family

The girls get punished but the boys don't ... can you say "double standard"?

Sixteen members of a girls' high school soccer team have been suspended after attending a party where alcohol was served. What's so wrong with that? The boy's football team did the same thing and they didn't get punished!

According to sources who spoke to News4, the party was held at one of the players' homes after a game earlier this month. The party has become an annual tradition for the team.

"It was a get-together they always have for varsity girls' soccer," boys' soccer team member Jorge Fraga told News4. "It's become a tradition over the years. Alcohol just happened to come in."

After winning five state titles, two in the last three years, the Lady Bruins are a well-known soccer powerhouse. Among the team's alumni: soccer pro Mia Hamm.

Though the 16 players didn't necessarily drink alcohol, all who attended the party were suspended, sources said. They had signed a participation policy pledging to adhere to a certain code of conduct, school officials said.

"The participation policy addresses all sorts of different behaviors and potential violation or students who engage in those behaviors, and it goes into things like attendance ... and just your general behaviors of what would be acceptable behavior of any student, but we hold our athletes to a little bit higher standard," Fairfax County Schools Athletic Director Bill Curran said.

"It's kind of disappointing, because the football team had the same incidents during the football season," boys' soccer team member Saman Fakhriyadi said. "These girls are working so hard, won [the state title] two years in a row, coming back, and the entire season has gone down the drain."

Some of the players face up to 30 days of suspension.

Do you think this is fair ... or is it a double standard?

9 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

Total double standard and not fair in the least! Totally sexist!!!

- leelee

Posted 03/27/09 09:25 AM

Should the girls be punished? Yes. But so should the boys. COMPLETE double standard.

- MarMar

Posted 03/27/09 09:55 AM

there’s a double standard for everyone. When I was in high school, some kids got caught by the cops for skipping school to drink. They didn’t get in trouble because most of their parents were well known in the community, and they were the national honor society kids, and sports “stars”, but nothing got taken away from them. But other kids who skipped and didn’t have alcohol got in trouble with the school.

- anonymous

Posted 03/27/09 11:30 AM

It’s a double standard all the underage kids who were drinking should be punished, it’s illegal.

- Bec Thomas

Posted 03/27/09 08:58 PM

What a sick double standard. The boys should be punished just as harshly.

- Jill (the other one)

Posted 03/28/09 12:30 AM

All jocks drink.

- Anonymous

Posted 03/30/09 12:17 AM

WHY CANT WOMAN HAVE RIGHTS, I MEAN IF THE GIRLS WERE PUNISHED, WHY CANT THE BOYS BE PUNISHED, TOO. ARE WE PEOPLE TODAY VERY VERY CRAZY!?!

- sann_x

Posted 03/30/09 01:57 AM

Even if the girls signed a pledge,what goes on off school grounds should not legally be a reason for a school suspension.You can not legally sign away your civil rights,even if you do so willingly.If they want to restrict alcohol and drug use then screen all the athletes.

- Gail Thomas

Posted 04/07/09 09:48 PM

if the girls get punished so should the boys (they should get the same punishment) and what has a party got to do with school anyway?

- funky monkey

Posted 05/18/09 05:40 AM