Ok Coach ED, or anybody else,
Today was Pre-enrollment for middle school and the MS Principle told us that Karissa could not wrestle in MS, he said they have never had a girl do it and there is no place for her to shower or change. I calmly told him that I didnt think he could stop her from wrestling because of title 9 and that she could use the girls basketball locker room. He continued to resist, so I told him I would look into the matter my self and then approach the proper chain of command in the school system. Does anybody have any advice on how I should procede with this?
Maybe just bypass him and talk to the coaches?
Let me know what you think. Coach Ed and Jenni, you guys know how much Karissa loves to wrestle win or lose. So I will push this as far as needed for her to be able to do it.
Thanks Tony

Hey Tony, as you know I used to live in Oklahoma and know the system well. First, be calm, and proceed with offering suggestions as you have done, but be firm. A little known fact is that I was loosely involved when everything went down at Owasso and for those in Oklahoma all you should have to do is remind the principal or any others of Owasso and their issues related to Title IX.

Be firm, in being firm you may also have to seek legal council for a situation like this. I would speak to the school board or superintendent first. It is always better to make friends than to make enemies. It is also better to stand up for your daughter over school systems. If need be, you would be able to find an attorney easily for this.

I am curious as to the school system you are at. I have my suspicions and if I am correct, it is time that system has an issue like this addressed. Email me off line and I can give you further information and details as to everything that went down at Owasso.

Tony,

I know that Hannah Martin wrestled in MS cuz she won the state tourney in boys. Get with her dad and I will email you some other stuff. Steve Martin...yes that is his real name...if you are out there help us out. What to do? What to do?

Ms. Jenni

When we addressed this issue at our schools, we discussed it calmly but firmly, as said by Mike. You need to inform the Head Wrestling Coach of the situation. He may be able to persuade the powers that be. In addition, if you cannot get approval from the AD, continue to the Principal, then to the School Board. Once you have exhausted all of the resourcesat this level, send a letter to the KSSAA wrestling director, and advise that if not resolved, you will be contacting Ted DaRousse at the USAW National office to ask for legal advice and representation. I would bet that it never comes to that. After you give people accurate and honest information, they generally brew on it a while then change their tune. JUST BE TACTFUL!!!

Hey Brian, good to see you on the Kansas Forums, hope all is well at Guthrie and looking forward to seeing some of the guys this summer. Hopefully there will be some at the Ark City Tournament now that your season is done.

Tony,
It looks like you've gotten some good advice from people familiar with similar incidents in Oklahoma. Karissa is a neat kid and a good wrestler and she is fortunate to have a supportive father like you to protect her right to wrestle. My advice would be to 1) stand up to the principal and 2) don't hesitate to go over the principal's head to the superintendent. If the superintendent can't see the injustice of barring girls from wrestling, go to the school board. There has to be someone in the school district who can see a Title IX violation in progress and understand the risk such action places on the school district. Hang in there and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks to everybody that responded. I have talked to the Middle school Coach and he has assured me that he and the High School Coach have already disscussed Karissa wrestling and they are looking forward to it. He also stated they already talked about where she would shower and change, she will use the High School Girls Basketball locker room (i knew basketball was good for something). He could not understand why the Principle said what he did and said there will not be any problems because they feel people need to embrace girls wrestling as it will only help boys wrestling if the girls can grow into their own league.
Tony and Karissa

Hey Tony,
Haven't been on this forum in quite a while, just saw you and Ed's posts today. Been real busy at work and when we get a chance, training Hanna for Southern Plains. She's going to try and make All-American against the boys in freestyle and greco this year. Sounds like you've got everything straightened out for Karissa to wrestle for your middle school. Get use to things like this, it won't change. There is always plenty of narrow minded people out there who you will have to deal with in some way or another. Karissa is one of the special ones and as she gets better and better, beating all the boys, more people will come after her. I won't go into all the things that have happened to us here on an open forum, but it's a constant battle. One bright side is that 90% of the people in "the wrestling community" are very positive towards the girls. Good luck and be stubborn, things like this will crop up every season. The main thing I try to do when this gender thing happens is to keep Hanna completely out of the loop. She takes care of things on the mat, I take of everything else(the grown ups). Because what it really comes down to with girls like Karissa, Hanna and many others, is they just love to wrestle. They aren't "girl wrestlers" they are just wrestlers and they aren't going anywhere. Here's my e-mail if you to e-mail me. brute552001@earthlink.net
See ya,
Steve Martin

Steve,
Thanks for the reply and the kind words about Karissa. Tell Hanna to go kick some butt we are rootting for her.
Karissa considers Hanna 1 of her best friends even though the don't see each other very often.
Karissa is playing softball right now but says everyday that she can't wait for wrestling camp in Ponca with the guys from OSU.
Tony