Teen Athlete Claims She Was Benched for Pregnancy

Kik
Telling everyone she is a slut does not help. What about the boy? Or she could have been asalted. Sounds to me like she is trying to make a bad situation better. More power to her play all you want. Shame on the Coach for telling her she cant play. He also had no right to tell the team.

While the coach may have been within his rights to bench the teen, he had no business discusses her condition with her teammates.

I say ditto to what Jen said. If the girl had lost the baby after playing she would have sued the socks off the coach and the school and the state even if the playing didn't have anyting to do with the loss of the baby.

I agree with you. What scares me about this whole thing is the mother and the government getting involved. Big Brother is on its way.

Then the school should have gotten her and her mother to write a waiver. Being a mother of two I've seen too many times women completely healthy and capable of doing things refused because of a pregnancy. Too many women are treated like they are diseased or as if they are not capable of caring for their own bodies and babies. I'm sick of other people thinking its ok to force a pregnant women to do what they want and not what she wants for herself and her own body.

At this point, playing team sports should be the least of her worries...

I disagree with the fact she was benched after getting a Doctors Note( Who would know more about Patient safety then a Coach) saying it was fine for her to play.
I also fell that the Teacher should be suspended for the remaining of the season do to his breach of student privacy. And that is what the complaint should be about. It would be like a teacher finding out a student has Aids and informing that students class mates. It is not right.
Also The fact of her needing something to look forward to and count on is always important no matter what situation a person is in.

even though the coach benched her for her safety, he had no right or justifcation on telling anyone about her condition. If the doc said she can play, let her play.she is in her senior year let her play. I hope the parents are able to get justic for her. I also hope that the coach has to take a class to learn how to handle future situation if not to tranfere him out all together. keep your head up girl fight for your rights, and good luck with the baby.

This isn't a matter of people treating someone who is pregnant like they are diseased... the pregnant student has every right to do what she wants while pregnant, but she doesn't have the right to do it on someone else's liability insurance. And the other team members had the right to know since it is a contact sport. The parents have already proven themselves to be sue-happy. Sex discrimination? Puh-lese.... perhaps she herself should have had more "discriminate" about sex before she got pregnant. Make a choice and live with the consequences... plain and simple.

I disagree if she lost the baby playing then its her fault and knew the dangers befor she got the ok from her doctor even if she tried to blame the coach it wouldnt work because it would go right back to the doctor because he is the one the wrote the note for her to play, the coach had no right benching someone because of a condition as a teacher and coach you are aware of every school rule and what you can and can not do to a student and he broke several rules by telling teammates that she ir preg. and he also lied to her face about how he cuts players times in the end of the season he had no right for what he did and should be taken to court or fired because now the school will have the rep all because of that coach and what he did.

I don't think the coach went about it the correct way but I would have benched her too. There's no reason for him to discuss the situation with her teammates without her consent, so he was definitely wrong in that department.

Now as for her playing volleyball while pregnant. What if a spike smacks the ball right in her stomach and she loses the baby? I realize she's probably got a greater chance of falling down a flight of steps than a rogue ball hitting her but why risk it? Not to say she would sue the school, but if I was the coach, I wouldn't want that to take that kind of risk.

Not all doctors agree that pregnant women should keep up active sports during pregnancy. I have a friend who trained and ran during pregnancy, and her child was born with a significant, incurable birth defect supposedly due to lack of oxygen during gestation. There is a variety of documented evidence that exerting oneself during pregnancy (beyond a certain level) can harm both mother and child. And as others have said, if anything did happen to this child, you know the school would be sued if they didn't at least CYA.

This unmarried, pregnant teenager and her mom are living in a dream world if they expect life to go on just like normal after she got herself knocked up. Hello! Guess why unmarried teens shouldn't be having sex? Next thing you know, they will be suing Calvin Klein for not making their hottest jeans in her maternity size. Give me a break. Who is going to be babysitting this child when mommy is playing volleyball? Do they make sports bras for nursing mothers? I can't believe I'm expected to care about this foolish youth's access to sports.

there was no reason for the coach to even know she was pregnant, why'd they even tell him?

I'm am with the coach entirely. If she loved her sport so much she shouldn't have gotten pregnant. Someone needs to sit her hot tale down and explain to her the consequences of becoming pregnant. Once you have a child u still won't be able to do the same things as if you didn't have a child. The senior and mother need counseling because their way of thinking is whats wrong with this country today. THEY BOTH SHOULD BE ASHAMED. tell that to Good Morning America.

I agree with Jen!

I totally agree with you Jen. There is no way a pregnant girl should be allowed to play sports. ESPECIALLY high school volleyball! I mean, I played volleyball for years, and half of the game includes things like hitting the floor, rolling, and throwing yourself at the ball, all of which could hurt or kill the baby! Playing volleyball is not at all like running, you don't generally throw your body on the ground while you're out for a run. I agree, the coach should not have told the rest of the team. And while she does have the right to continue playing on the team if she wanted to with the doctors note, the coach was right in benching her anyway. These days, you have to protect yourself from getting sued, because people can and will find a way to sue for anything. Bottom line, this is not discrimination in any way, this is purely for her and her baby's health and safety, and for the sake of the school's liability.

I think the coach had no right to bench her, she had a note from a doctor that stated she was healthy enough to play. The fact that he told the team she was expecting is amazing. Teachers and especially coaches are usually some one teens in crisis situations turn to. He violated that trust and possibly the trust of the students who may need some one to turn to in the future. Amazing.

The girl is a minor and protected by law. The school has no right to disclose this information. If you do not agree please post your child's school records online for all to view. Secondly if a doctor has written a release to allow a student to participate in a school sponsored activity so be it. If you do not agree please send letters to the school district in question asking them to remove all students from all activities that require a doctors note for them to participate, oops that will require the district to close down being a doctors 'note' is required for all to attend school.

did I hear this correctly? the most disturbing thing about this situation is that thjis young lady considered having an abortion to avoid all the "drama" that followed her pregnancy... she'd already making the decision to keep the child because of her Christian values.

Christianity calls us to selflessness, meaning that sacrifices must be made when it comes to personal preferences or the consequences of our choices. yes, I don't think the coach was right in outting her pregnancy -- but i do agree with his decision to limit her playing time despite a doctor's note. the doctor was convinced based on the girl's "promises" mostly. I was the sole setter for my volleyball team and there were plenty of times when I had to dive on the floor without hesitation.

Sounds like there is a long road ahead for these folks, but playing volleyball (at 5 months pregnant) versus continuing a pregnancy altogether should not be an either-or option.