When Beyonce sung her ode to hypocrisy, the lyrics from 'If I were a Boy' resonated with many young women. The same double standard that the Mrs. Shawn Carter melodically expressed is so evident in local girls basketball.
In the "Really?" moment of the young high school season, a high school coach has reportedly made a bold and probably illegal proclamation. This coach has apparently given his/her star player an ultimatum! The ultimatum is to choose a school to commit to by a certain day or NOT be allowed to practice. Again, let me clarify what you just read. This high school coach has put a player on notice that she is to choose a college by an upcoming date or she WILL NOT be allowed to practice with the team!!!....... Please read that again. And again. And AGAIN!!!!
The college decision can be overwhelming for many players. This decision is worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. This decision will affect the lives of players in ways that they can hardly understand. For an adult, a high school coach, to put additional pressure on a child to make a decision or face consequences is absurd!
Imagine if the Reagan boy's coach told Tre Demps to choose it or lose it last season. How would have Demps' NBA executive father have reacted? Imagine is Malcolm Brown was told that he better choose a school BEFORE the high school season last year or he would have to sit out until doing so. What kind of publicity would this have received? Furthermore, the Steele football coach and Reagan boys basketball coach would not have made such threats because of the likelihood that Brown and Demps would have called their bluff. Steele would not have won state without Brown and Reagan would have been far less successful without Demps. In the ultra competitive world of boys football and basketball, these boys coaches are not allowed to remain mediocre and keep their jobs! To prohibit your best player from playing for reasons that have NOTHING to do with ability would lead eventual dismissal on the boys side.
As the lyrics to 'If I were a Boy' go, "I'd.... make the rules as I go". And since few administrations appear to have great expectations from girls basketball programs, SOME coaches know that they have impunity to be underachievers and held to a standard less than the boys.
