When the preteen girls of the South Morningside Primary School football team in Scotland (American soccer) won the highly regarded Edinburgh Schools cup last summer, they were elated. They soundly beat their opponent 5-2 in the finals, after narrowly getting through the semi-finals in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. Winning the tournament was a big deal.
But when organizers presented them with a small, plastic trophy – instead of the large trophy the boys’ winning team would be getting – their excitement turned to shock and anger. Their head coach Tom Wills agreed but urged them to “focus on what they had achieved and how hard they had worked to get there.”
They humbly accepted the tiny trophy, right in front of the larger one reserved for the boys, but the slight made them mad. They’d worked hard to get there and deserved to be recognized fairly.
Despite winning the whole tournament, they left thinking: “Are we not good enough?”
The backstory
The girls’ competition has been held every year since 1997. Last year, however, was the first time they’d played their final on the same day as the boys – and the first time the two trophies were displayed publicly side-by-side. Organizers claimed no one behind-the-scenes had ever noticed the difference in their size.
When the trophies were set out the day of the finals, though, Willie French, head of the Edinburgh Primary Schools Sports Association who runs the tournament, definitely noticed. And he was embarrassed.
But the games went on as scheduled and the original trophies given to the winners.
What they did about it
In the days following their win, the girls spoke up.
French wasn’t surprised to receive their “articulate” and “eloquent” letter pointing out that the dramatically smaller cup “didn’t recognize the importance of the girls and made them feel inferior to the boys.” He totally agreed.
He quickly bought another trophy – just like the one given to the winning boys’ team – and presented it to the girls in a ceremony at their school.
The feeling that comes with doing the right thing
While getting the larger award on the same day they won the game would have been better, the girls were proud “because we stood up for ourselves.” Their coach says he was “probably more proud” of them for speaking out against injustice than he was for how they played in the whole tournament.
Wider recognition came from the female head of Scottish Women’s Football, who agreed that women and girls need to be seen as just as deserving and men and boys. She really admired what the girls did. And more high praise from an Edinburgh city education official, saying the girls’ actions had helped “level the playing field not only in football, but all sports.”
These girls did what many adults are hesitant to do. At the age of 10, 11 and 12, they saw a wrong and didn’t let it slide. They respectfully asked that it be made right.
Don’t wait for others to act
It’s tempting to wait for someone else to fix things. French noticed the girls’ trophy was much smaller than the boys’ before anyone else pointed it out. He admits the inequity made him uncomfortable. But he only acted after the girls raised the issue.
Maybe the $2000+ the new trophy cost wasn’t in the budget. Or he didn’t want to ruffle the feathers of whoever had run the tournament for years. Maybe you can relate.
In the end, though, given his discomfort, he seemed relieved to be able to make the situation right. That’s the feeling we should focus on.
What’s nagging at you right now? What’s making you uneasy? What can you do to make that situation better? Even small actions can move the needle in the right direction. Just take some action.
To borrow wise words from Martin Luther King, Jr, “The time is always right to do what is right.” To do whatever we can to make others feel seen and valued and worthy.
Thanks to this team of Scottish preteen girls for reminding us of that.
(Photo/Stephen Tierney)
Please share this post and remember – you matter. Your actions standing up for yourself and others is how constructive change happens. So let’s get to it!
