May 26, 2008 - Our pick for Pretty Tough Player of the Week is twelve-year-old Jaime Nared. The Beaverton, Oregon sixth grader is nearly 6-1 and already an excellent basketball player. Since second grade, she’s been demonstrating her Michael Jordan-like skills on a boys team at The Hoop, a private basketball facility in her hometown. She can hold her own against the boys and regularly drops three-pointers while scoring 30 points in a game.
Last month, seemingly out of nowhere, her coach was informed by Hoop officials that Jaime couldn’t play with the team anymore. The reason, they claim, is that league rules prohibit mixed-gender teams. This was news to Coach Michael Abraham, who has been coaching basketball for 32 years.
Coach Abraham, as well as Jaime’s parents, think the real issue here is that this 12-year-old girl is making the boys look bad. “I remember one play. She stole the ball, dribbled up court and made a behind-the-back pass to a teammate. He missed the lay-in, and she grabbed the rebound and put it in. I think it was just too much for some of those parents,” says Jaime’s mom, Reiko Williams. “The next day, she came home and said they wouldn’t let her play with the boys anymore.”
“She’s absolutely as gifted a sixth grader as I’ve ever been associated with,” says Abraham.
Obviously, we think they should let the girl play. If she can play better than the boys, hooray for her. Let her be challenged and play at a level where she can be competitive. Come on boys - give the girl a break.
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