[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Year's ago when I was still officiating H.S. fut bol (soccer) the soccer officials association to which I belonged assigned games for State Line Christian H.S. which was located just across the state line from Toledo in "that state up north" (that is Michigan for all of you people who are not familiar with the greatest college football rivalary in the histor of the game). State Line H.S. is what we called an outlaw school because it did not belong to the MichiganHSAA, but they did play basketball and soccer using NFHS rules.

One year they played host to Lansing (Mich.) Christian H.S., which traveled about 140 miles to play the game and I was assigned as the R in a three-man crew to officiate the game. As we were meeting at the center of the field for the coin toss, the SLHS principal/athletic director walked into our meeting and informed us that the one co-captain for LCHS could not play because she was a girl and this was a boy's soccer game. We all stood there speechless (I know, me speechless) for a moment. And then I told him that he had no control over who LCHS put on the field of play and that we (the game officials) were going to let her play. He said that he would no allow his team to take the field against LCHS if she played. I asked him if that meant he was refusing to play the game. He said yes. I said fine and since we had already received our game checks we would be leaving right now. He said we couldn't leave and if we did he would stop payment on the checks. I told him that if he stopped payment on the checks, we just wouldn't take him to small claims court we would file criminal charges for theft of services against him and the school. That changed his mind pretty quick. We played the game and I never officiated soccer there again.

MTD, Sr.