In Hoover, a town located in Alabama, a women’s basketball team has won the men’s league in its category, but has not received the trophy. According to a complaint by the mother of one of the players on Facebook, the team was forced to play the men’s championship under the threat of losing access to the facilities where they normally trained if they did not agree. The girls rose to the challenge, pushed themselves to keep up with their male counterparts, won the competition, but ultimately didn’t get the trophy.
The event, which occurred last February, was intended to be a story of improvement and motivation, but it has finally become a public complaint marked by the difference in treatment between girls and boys.
Jayme Mashayekh is the parent who has gone public with the fifth-grade players on the Hoover girls’ recreational team. She, according to her account in the publication: “In the middle of the season they were told that they could not use the Hoover gyms for their practices unless they paid to play in the Hoover recreational league.” The girls were aware that they were playing without competing, since they were informed at the start of the league that if they won they would not be able to obtain the trophy. But that did not discourage them.
The members of the women’s team had been playing together for three years in the school women’s league and represented their Instituto Spain Park de Hoover. For most of the competition, they sat in the middle of the league table, but they went on to win game by game and ended up top of the league. However, the trophy that bore his name was awarded to the men’s team that came in second.
The publication on the social network has served for the authorities to contact the players. According to Mashayekh, the city of Hoover and the Hoover Rec Center “reached out to make things right for the girls.” But there has not yet been any update on the measures they intend to take.
For his part, Allen Rice, administrator of the city of Hoover, said in a statement that “they are working to provide adequate recognition to all the teams that were successful in the tournament” and assures that “they will review the scope of what happened to ensure that in future programs are handled appropriately”.
The story of the Hoover girls is unfinished. It is not yet known what the authorities will do in this regard, nor is there any update on the measures they intend to take.
