RIO RANCHO, NM – I am not one to spend much time reading tweets of those I follow.  I will scan quickly and move on to something much more important than knowing what a tweeter has for lunch.  But this week a specific tweet caught my eye.  Neate Sager posted a tweet from his Yahoo Sports blog.  It concerned the issue of a lawyer drawing up a contract that would limit the ice time of a 12-year old in a local PeeWee A league.  It seems the lawyer has a son on the same team. 

Sager’s piece reviews the drafted document from the attorney and can be read here.  There is no real need to cite verbatim the tired old phrases from a parent looking to increase their own child’s playing time or exposure at the cost of someone else’s time.  Suffice to say this parent felt the 12-year old in question hadn't progressed at a sufficient pace to satisfy him.  His solution in the document was to cut ice time for this player or find another team to place the player.

The player?  A 12-year old young girl from the area.  Her gender should not make much of a difference in this sad tale.  But it does for me.  It makes one question the motivation of the lawyer.  Did he feel his son’s time was being taken by a “girl?"  Was his son being overlooked in favor of a “girl?"

It’s a peewee A league.  This should be about developing abilities and respect for the game.  Neither Gary Thorne nor Bill Clement are in the stands broadcasting the game.  Scouts are not there looking for this lawyer’s son and jotting notes for future drafting or recruiting tools. 

The response to the drafted document?  This 12-year old hockey player withdrew from the team.  The player, Kayla, was made aware of the document most likely through her parents who attended a parents meeting where the document was released and discussed.

In the Yahoo piece, Sager highlights the lawyer’s response to Kayla’s withdrawal from the team; or perhaps non-response.  The lawyer apportions blame elsewhere and fails to take any of the responsibility for his actions. 

I forwarded Sager’s piece to my friend Chris Riley who developed Asphalt Avengers (featured on PHN) and asked for his opinion.

“I was speechless, really,” Riley said.  “This is exactly why we created the Asphalt Avengers.  Kids need role models to follow.  This young girl should not have been put in the position of quitting her team.”

The first decade of the 21^st century is about to close.  It has been a decade fraught with danger and aggressive responses to violent terror acts here in the US.  But it has also become the decade of a “look at me” society.  How do we justify the actions of a lawyer campaigning for ice time for his son while denigrating the capabilities of a young 12-year old girl learning to play the game she evidently loves?  What of the son?  How has this cretin of a father impacted him?  Two young lives have felt the brunt of this action. 

Hockey has a hard enough time making inroads into the sports landscape.  The next generations will need to overcome biases as they have existed for years, but also the bad press generated from actions such as this lawyer. 

It’s a shame really.  Kayla should be applauded for playing and making a difficult decision to withdraw from her team.  Calling it “quitting” is unfair.  Let’s not focus on the lawyer and his efforts to focus on his son and the consequent ego-satisfying reflection on himself. 

I want to read where Kayla is back on this peewee team and is welcomed by her coaches and teammates; including the lawyer’s son in the welcome line.

And one more issue for this story.  The lawyer’s name is not mentioned here.  The backlash to his actions has been as inappropriate as his own actions were.  His web page and FaceBook pages have been administratively taken down.  We cannot condone these reactions.

Contact Lou.Lafrado@prohockeynews.com