When Parkrose girls soccer coach Dorothy Schlotz first read the OSAA’s girls soccer Sports Rules Interpreter Bulletin that came out weeks ago, her heart sank.
The memo, in which OSAA soccer rules interpreter Patrick Duffy explicitly wrote the words “do not referee a girls’ game the same way you would a boys’ game,” made her angry.
She shared the memo with her players, who had a similar response.
“My heart was absolutely crushed,” said Parkrose senior Haley Holbrook. “It’s really disappointing to hear those words come from someone in power.”
The bulletin told soccer referees in Oregon to be more strict on girls than boys, saying that “girls are much less likely to want to play through some contact with opponents that boys typically want to shrug off.” Duffy wrote that referees should opt to give out yellow and red cards as opposed to letting players continue through contact.
“Hearing those words from somebody who’s in that position of power can make them feel real,” said senior Grace Gordon, who worries the bulletin could be harmful for the players who read it, especially impressionable teenagers. “It’s dangerous for young women to hear that.”
The sexist language hit close to home for the Parkrose girls, who have seen what they consider unfair treatment from referees this season. Now, the team is taking a stand against the sexist message.
After reading the memo, players designed protest shirts, which they wear during warmups. The black T-shirts have a simple message, scrawled in white letters across the front: Same Game. Same Rules. Diversity. Equality. Unity.
“The battle for equality in women’s sports has been everlasting and is still evolving,” senior Haley Holbrook said. “This is a really good opportunity for us to make a stand. And I’m really proud of this.”
The OSAA and Duffy have apologized for the bulletin.
OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the association does not condone or support the message that was sent out, one that directly goes against the OSAA’s own rules against bias in activities. Duffy issued a new bulletin and is required to take NFHS implicit bias and OSAA equity training courses in order to continue his role (that he’s held for 17 years).
But the damage was done, and for Parkrose this is a problem that the Broncos have personally seen.
Earlier in the season, senior defender Koko Woods found herself on the receiving end of a card that she now understands meets the definition of what Duffy’s original bulletin was looking for.
In the game, Woods and an opposing player got into a verbal spat. A referee came in and immediately issued both players red cards, resulting in both players’ ejection from the game.
“No warning, we were given red cards. No warning, no talk to. Usually with boys they will be given a talk or a yellow card. But then immediately we were given red cards and just sent straight to the bench,” Woods said. “And I feel that was just a way to make us calm down. Which was really, it was heartbreaking because it’s my senior year and I missed out on a game.”
Woods’ teammates agreed that the red cards were not necessary in that situation. Senior Jay Taggard said the type of verbal altercation that Woods got into is one that they have seen at boys’ games
“If you go to any boys high school game, there’s yelling constantly throughout the game and it’s just part of the sport,” Taggard said. “And then you come to a girls match and it’s automatically seen as uncontrollable and we have to separate them for no reason”
The players said a big part of the separation between the officiating for boys and girls soccer comes from the pool of referees being largely male. If there were more female referees, or better training on how to work with female athletes, the Parkrose players said there might be a more equitable experience for both sides.
The protest shirts double as a team building exercise for the Broncos, allowing them to showcase their love of their community as a group.
“We wear them with pride,” Gordon said. “I feel like a lot of times when Parkrose is put out into the media it’s not necessarily portrayed in a great light. But I know at least my team has a lot of pride in our school and in our community and being able to show that this is the Parkrose that we want you to know about. This is the Parkrose girls soccer team that we want people to know about. It’s really empowering.”
-- Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
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