By now you probably heard about the April Gehl's now viral tweet that landed her a five-game suspension from her Hilbert High School basketball team. I have been following this story, I find it interesting.
Based on her tweet, I think five games is a bit excessive and I think her high school (who imposed the excessive suspension) should cut her suspension to a more reasonable length, like a game or two. Seriously, her punishment doesn't fit the crime. It's excessive. The kid was tweeting her opinion. Don't we want our kids to think critically?
I also think that the WIAA needs to take another look at their moronic, mind-numbing rules that they expect the students to follow. Being a kid is supposed to be fun and attending sports is part of the growing up experience. If I attended a high school in Wisconsin, I might just consider staying home.
Gehl's tweet was in response to an email from the WIAA. Here's a clip from that email in question.
Included in the WIAA email were examples such as “You can’t do that,” “Fundamentals,” “Air ball,” “There’s a net there,” “Sieve,” “We can’t hear you,” the “scoreboard” cheer and “season’s over” during tournament play. (USA Today)
First, as a parent, I think this is a teachable moment. This is an opportunity for a lesson to be learned. Giving her a five-game suspension only really teaches her that we are to fear authority and your opinion isn't welcome. Now get in line. This is a horrible lesson to teach a kid that's preparing for the adulthood. High school is where you learn right from wrong. This is part of the educational experience.
Do you want our kids telling an athletic association to "eat shit"? Probably not. She didn't even include the "@" symbol. If anything maybe the WIAA needs to stay out of the kids social media accounts. That's what they have parents for. Gehl also did it on her personal account. I like the fact that she didn't take the tweet down.
If anything, we should be happy that kid has an opinion and isn't just a sheep, follower, or a conformist. This is an opportunity to show that maybe this wasn't best response and encourage them to use a better way of communicating your thoughts. When I read the rules, I can see her point.
Do we really expect our kids not to yell scoreboard or brick? I don't. These are tame cheers and no way offensive.
Finally, I think we need to use this as an opportunity to let our kids know that there's probably a better way to communicate your feeling. There has to be a better way than going on social media and telling somebody where to stick it -- to eat shit -- or just suck it.
By the way, Gehl, a senior, and is the team's leader in points and rebounds. She started serving her suspension this past weekend. The Gehl's aren't going to appeal the suspension, either.
