Comments on: Pregnant High Schooler Alleges Discrimination

By: Erin@IW

Erin@IW — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:56:21 +0000

Sabrina,
I also thank you for commenting. I don’t know that you can compare your situation as an adult with her situation as a minor child. The school district has to take precautions for her safety and the safety of the baby. If you make a decision to exercise as an adult while pregnant, the decision is yours. Not the case when a student is attending school and is under the age of 18.
I heard something about a law suit too…stating that she was missing out on potential college scholarship money for Volleyball. I’m assuming that’s not true?
I agree that school should not have announced the pregnancy. It was a violation of her privacy. I don’t think (if it’s true) that it was appropriate to play the ESPN interview for the students either. That seems a bit strange.
I don’t know that it’s the schools responsibility to” nurture pregnant athletes” as the mother stated in the ESPN interview. I think it’s the school’s responsibility to educate the pregnant athlete, provide available counseling support, link to outside supports if necessary, and treat the student with respect. I don’t know that she’s entitled to play volleyball just because she wants to. What if she was 7 months pregnant or 9 months pregnant? Where does the line get drawn?
We all make choices in our life. She chose to have unprotected sex. She’s young, its bound to happen. She’s a beautiful, intelligent, promising young woman who had wasn’t completely using her head. That doesn’t mean she should be ostracized (though I find it very hard to believe that in a public school in Fort Worth, she was the ONLY pregnant student). It certainly doesn’t mean her privacy should be violated. But it does mean that things are going to change. Pregnancy is not something you can hide forever. The whispers and gossip were inevitable. Not right, not kind but an expected consequence in high school.

By: Anya@IW

Anya@IW — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:51:46 +0000

Sabrina, thanks for posting. I wish Mackenzie the very best. She seems to posses a lot resilience - an admirable character trait to say the least.

By: Jennie@IW

Jennie@IW — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:29:49 +0000

Sabrina, thanks for offering your perspective. I do agree that Mackenzie’s privacy was violated, and that was very wrong. I don’t feel like there’s enough evidence to state that the actions of school officials were punitive rather than simply cautious. It does appear that in requiring a note they were following policy, and while I don’t think one’s life should stop due to pregnancy, I also think the school is within their rights to have certain guidelines they follow before allowing a student to participate in an extra-curricular activity.

I really do wish Mackenzie the best and don’t doubt she’ll be a fine mother – I’m just not sure that I entirely agree with the position she’s taken in this case.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:49:21 +0000

I know Miss Mackenzie very well. To clear up some confusion, she is not suing anyone. She/her mother filed a complaint. She just wants to make sure that no one else has to go through this. Online boards have really spun this.
Also, she didn’t have any problems being cleared by her doctor. I am a mother of two and was cleared to do all of my regular athletic activities during pregnancy. None of my organized athletic groups required a note. I care for my children, as does Mackenzie for her son. That does not mean that we can’t continue with life even if something tragic might happen. Her and her doctor agree that restrictions were not neccessary.
Her privacy was violated and then she was punished. She is healthy and able and the best in her district at her position.
When all of this passes she will get to be the awesome mom that the ones closest to her know she will be. She is very aware of the struggles she has ahead of her. She continues to handle all of it with grace.

By: Maribeth

Maribeth — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:44:27 +0000

I think she is simply trying to find a way to get back at the school and the coach for releasing all the information they have on her. That in itself should be sued for. The coach for telling the other students when she would of told him she was not telling anyone yet did it on purpose most likely to try to get her to stop fighting. Then the school showed her ESPN interview at school during school hours. Which is definetly not school curriculem and a nick against her on purpose. I think they were right to restrict her in playing because of the safety to the child and herself and it should have been explained to her better but there actions for publicly releasing her private information is what she should be sueing over.

By: Jennie@IW

Jennie@IW — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:38:32 +0000

She’s got bigger fish to fry right now, and though I dont think she should stop living her life, this is just one tiny change in a long line that she’s about to face.

That’s sort of how I feel, though I know I don’t have the right (or the capacity) to make choices for her or tell her what to do. Volleyball may be important to her, but in this case I can’t help but wonder if it’s a symptom of denial – she doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge what a big change this will bring to her life.

By: Pam@IW

Pam@IW — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:09:52 +0000

Chris,

I agree. I said in a previous post :

There could have been many factors that played into that including the student’s decreased athletic ability as a result of the pregnancy...

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:04:47 +0000

Maybe I’m oversimplifying it here, but isn’t it possible that Mackenzie’s inability (rightly so) to dive for the ball or potentially being “gun shy” about balls hit at her midsection might compromise her effectiveness on the volleyball court? Couldn’t the coach have maybe been trying to put his best team on the court? He didn’t kick her off the team, after all. He limited her playing time.
Besides, if God forbid, Mackenzie got hurt and her pregnancy were compromised, the school and the coach would be vilified.
We make choices, we live with them.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:52:19 +0000

Even if she did change her style of play (which she isn’t capable of knowing whether what she is doing is really a danger or not, in my opinion)- she can’t control the other players movements or where the ball winds up. She’s got bigger fish to fry right now, and though I dont think she should stop living her life, this is just one tiny change in a long line that she’s about to face.

By: Jennie@IW

Jennie@IW — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:11:59 +0000

Well, she stated that she was changing her style of play and avoiding falling on her stomach. I think there can be the tendency to overemphasize the fragility of a pregnant woman. But I don’t blame the school district for being extremely cautious about the risk.