Most parents want nothing more than to care for and protect their children from all forms of harm. When something threatens that, some become fiercely protective, refusing to let perpetrators get away with it.
As one mom in North Carolina did when her daughter was humiliated at her soccer practice, told a part of her personal style is distracting, and was banned from playing.
Da’Raille Marshmon of Hope Mills, North Carolina, brought her 6-year-old daughter to her soccer practice one evening, expecting a normal evening as her other practices had been.
What she did not expect was her daughter to be blocked from playing that night.
Her daughter was approached by a volunteer official and told that she needed to take her hair down. She relayed this to her dad who asked for clarification from said official. They told him that her hair was a distraction.
When they refused to take her hair down, she was barred from playing that night.
"Hope Mills Parks and Rec, This is unacceptable!" the post begins, "In accordance to your 'No Jewelry' rule for soccer, hair clips are not 'hair beads' or 'headwear of any type'. In the year of our Lord 2021, asking a little 6yo girl to alter the wear of her hair due to a subjective and culturally biased ruling during the play of any sport is outdated and not the move."
She also included a previous photo of her daughter at a different game wearing similar clips which she wasn't told were distracting.
"There were other options that could’ve been taken tonight but instead you left us with the option of degrading the appearance and demoralizing our sweet little girl by suggesting to [undo] her hair clips."
"Those hair clips are her personal appearance that she has worn her entire life. Instead we were left with a sadden and tearful little girl who had to be consoled while she cried uncontrollably, questioning her physical appearance. The trauma and torment she suffered tonight can not be undone."
"I’m so sorry she’s having to face this, this is wrong in every way possible. I hope you push this to immediate action," read one.
"This is not acceptable! I hope you go to the media. How dare they hurt an innocent child. I would go to the top! My blood is boiling!" said another.
Maxie Dove, the assistant director at Hope Mills Parks & Recreation, reached out to Marshmon and apologized, she told McClarthy News.
"He did apologize for the way things were handled," she said, "When it comes to a child feeling like they are less than because of their hair type or style, no it was not enough. But as her parent, we will move on and do our part to be better informed next time so it will not ever happen again.”
