Is it true the Lacrosse player from Lightridge HS was Bullied or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The family is still stamping its feet and isn't giving up legally:

https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-school-board-lcps-bullying-lacrosse-lily-sigler-mental-health-sports-student-athlete-sports-community-high-school-athletics

I will say WJLA's coverage of this has been abysmal. Stick to Loudoun Now or Loudoun Times.

WJLA has an anti-LCPS agenda that I assume stems from their ownership (Sinclair).
Their reporting on this has been incredibly one-sided.

Amazing the defense of LCPS here. Guess it's ok to sweep all the corruption that has occurred in LCPS the past 4 years. Whether the reporting is biased or not, LCPS continues to show its ignorance.

Nothing that happened here is "corrupt," the unproven allegations on the courthouse steps by the family's lawyer notwithstanding. And this has exactly nothing to do with recent controversies, several of which (the CRT phantom menace, for example) were grossly exaggerated and egged on by WJLA and attracted outsiders to our community to stir up shit.

In this instance, there is a state rule. LCPS abided by the state rule. The family doesn't like it and sued in court. The court ruled against the family. The end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School Board and Court denied her being able to play at Independence. She says she was bullied at Lightridge, but there's no real known evidence.

If she was bullied why didn't she choose to go to a school much closer to where she lives (ie John Champe, Freedom, etc.)? Instead chose the school that made it to the state finals in lacrosse last year.

My DD is friends with several girls on the Lightridge lacrosse team and they are pretty adamant that this is purely a desire to move to a better team team.

Not sure you’re familiar with the area but we previously lived in that area and Champe and Independence (there are cut throughs across rt. 50 to it) would be close to equally distant depending where she lived in the Lightridge zone, and Freedom farther. Not to mention the article said she had friends at Independence so a built in support system would be important if she was having social struggles affecting her mental health at Lightridge. I think we can all agree on that as parents. And since the girls who started the Lightridge team are now seniors I’d imagine they’d be similar in strength to Independence by this point. As far as what the girls are saying, if you’re a parent of teenagers you know that of course they all have opinions and not all of the facts unless they were directly involved. Regardless it’s ridiculous and a slippery slope to question the mental health of a teenage girl who wants to switch schools for her senior year-that’s not the norm. If she wanted a guarantee to win some sort of championship she probably would have switched to PVI. But it’s like a victim of assault—what teenage girl would really subject herself to this if she wasn’t struggling at her school. I also think it’s horrible a kid’s name was used from Lightridge and that the team as a whole has now been insinuated as bullies. Not sure why the school board dug their heels in sadly making this worse for all of the girls. They’ve also now set a precedent that if you’re struggling with mental health issues or bullying and you need to transfer schools that you can’t participate in sports and extracurriculars that are documented to help with mental health. Sad all around.

Indy was ranked 16th by MaxPreps, Lightridge in the 30s.

They've not set any sort of precedence, Lauren. That dog isn't going to hunt. I see you making that argument in other forums and the like, but that's not a factual interpretation of what's happening here. And how dare you complain about mental illness and allow your lawyer to make unsubstantiated accusations on the courthouse steps about another child? By name?

I’m assuming Lauren is the mom and sorry but that’s not me but I’m guessing from the comments it’s personal and there are both parties represented here. I wouldn’t put my kid through this if she had mental health struggles, even if she begged me to fight it. It’s not healthy and I would as I suggested probably move her to a private school or move to a new district because I know from living there that LoCo is a small world, especially for the kids and with social media. I’m guessing you’re directly involved in this based on your comments but if you took the time to read my comment I said it was wrong to mention a child’s name—assuming she was 18 maybe it’s legal but absolutely wrong and no doubt that kid is now struggling too. I also said it’s bad because that entire team now has to deal with speculation that they’re bullies.

But I do stand by the fact that I find it hard to believe a senior girl would chose to switch high schools for that final year for the sole reason to potentially win a state championship in one sport. It’s just not something you see a girl who is happy and thriving at her school do. Plus, no offense this is not MD private school level lacrosse with a championship meaning you’re one of the best HS teams in the country, and if Indy is 16th how do they even have a shot not being top 10? At a minimum she was having social issues whether it was in school or in sports. And I’m not sure who has the right to question that because I would not respond well if someone was questioning if any of my daughters or sons was struggling—that’s gross.

And is this woman wrong saying that a kid who transferred for the same reasons but was in marching band could participate in that or could get the lead in a play? The rule only applies to sports? That seems a messed up message too.

Yes, she's wrong. VHSL stands for Virginia High School League. It governs athletics statewide. The eligibility provision is a statewide rule, not something LCPS made up. What they wanted was a WAIVER and LCPS denied it, likely because of the optics that have been discussed here. So they sued, arguing that their daughter had some right to play on the high school team because of her mental health. LCPS and a judge decided the interests of others outweighed that.

But there's NOTHING here that restricts a student who transfers from doing activities like marching band, theater, yearbook, Model UN, or whatever. And suggesting that there's some precedent here that DOES restrict transferees from doing that is just a lie. This is entirely about athletics. And the policy is in place to prevent recruiting between HS and player poaching.

Got it but in the competitive environment we live in to dismiss there couldn’t be “recruiting” of the smartest kids so kids could win academic competitions for pride and college applications or a kid wanting to move to the school with the best drama program so they can tout being the lead in so and so’s production on their acting resume seems wrong. It’s not fair to single out athletes and it’s wrong to dismiss the importance of these other activities. But I guess that’s another topic.

Seems like LCPS should have not granted the transfer waiver because they’ve now become the arbiter of a child’s mental health struggles. That’s scary. Whether people chose to believe her or not, I know it’s not my right to question her because I’m not living it. Plus it sounds like from the media that she’s been in therapy so again, LCPS should have denied the transfer knowing participation in sports for an established athlete is part of their identity and if a positive environment can play a healthy role in improving mental health. By granting the transfer waiver and not the sports LCPS set her up for failure. A very sad way for this girl to have to finish high school-I think we can all agree on that and hope that college provides her with a fresh and positive experience.

I have no idea about academic competitions -- they aren't covered by VHSL.

And it's not "scary" and no matter how much the family has tried to make it about her mental health, it hasn't thrust LCSP into the role of arbiter. And even if it was, they're still weighing the interest of one person against the interest of the whole, and in the case of athletic competitions, the whole has a defined meaning. If they allowed this, you'd start to see a whole bunch of others transferring to powerhouse athletic programs on the grounds of "mental illness."

There's also an acute sense of entitlement at work here. The family knew she'd be ineligible and just transferred anyway and figured they'd try to make a stink and force a waiver. It didn't work out for them.

She's going to play in college. Her lacrosse career isn't over. But let's really stop acting like she's a victim here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a false rebuke of wp. If she were a poc, would never have been challenged.

I don't want to hijack this already provocative discussion into a debate about race favoritism, but by gosh that sure is true. If the student who claiming bullying was a POC, whether true or false, and whether racism was or was not part of the allegations, the result would have been 100% different. anybody who disagrees with that is either lying or has their eyes closed.

This is absolutely true. There is a double standard. I know the people involved and getting to a state championship had nothing to do with this transfer. The optics are unfortunate. I understand why the rules are in place and you don't want a coach or school recruiting a whole team of players but I think in this situation where we are talking about one girl, her senior year, they should have made the exception. One player is not going to be the factor that makes the team win a championship. if you read the other threads Battlefield is parents are pretty convinced they are taking the championship this year. There is always drama with girls lacrosse in this area. Every club and every school. At the end of the day this is one child wanting to play a sport for a couple of months.

So now this hypothetical racist strawman is your argument? Puhleeze.

You're really grasping at straws.

The girl is being treated exactly the same as other athletes who have transferred and had their eligibility put on hiatus for one year. She's not special. The parents seem to think the rules shouldn't apply because she allegedly got bullied and has mental health problems. She still has her club team, could go play rec, and will play in college. It's not like playing HS lacrosse is all she has.

So you do know if she’s a senior in high school that club is over, there’s no spring club games anyway once in high school, and definitely no rec. Spring = high school lacrosse only.

https://fxasports.com/league-details/sunday-night-women-s-lacrosse-spring-24/LG4142647

That’s a women’s league not like the summer leagues for high school and college players. So yes I guess there is one league she can go play in this spring but unless there is an under 25 division not sure how that’s going to help her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School Board and Court denied her being able to play at Independence. She says she was bullied at Lightridge, but there's no real known evidence.

If she was bullied why didn't she choose to go to a school much closer to where she lives (ie John Champe, Freedom, etc.)? Instead chose the school that made it to the state finals in lacrosse last year.

My DD is friends with several girls on the Lightridge lacrosse team and they are pretty adamant that this is purely a desire to move to a better team team.

Not sure you’re familiar with the area but we previously lived in that area and Champe and Independence (there are cut throughs across rt. 50 to it) would be close to equally distant depending where she lived in the Lightridge zone, and Freedom farther. Not to mention the article said she had friends at Independence so a built in support system would be important if she was having social struggles affecting her mental health at Lightridge. I think we can all agree on that as parents. And since the girls who started the Lightridge team are now seniors I’d imagine they’d be similar in strength to Independence by this point. As far as what the girls are saying, if you’re a parent of teenagers you know that of course they all have opinions and not all of the facts unless they were directly involved. Regardless it’s ridiculous and a slippery slope to question the mental health of a teenage girl who wants to switch schools for her senior year-that’s not the norm. If she wanted a guarantee to win some sort of championship she probably would have switched to PVI. But it’s like a victim of assault—what teenage girl would really subject herself to this if she wasn’t struggling at her school. I also think it’s horrible a kid’s name was used from Lightridge and that the team as a whole has now been insinuated as bullies. Not sure why the school board dug their heels in sadly making this worse for all of the girls. They’ve also now set a precedent that if you’re struggling with mental health issues or bullying and you need to transfer schools that you can’t participate in sports and extracurriculars that are documented to help with mental health. Sad all around.

Indy was ranked 16th by MaxPreps, Lightridge in the 30s.

They've not set any sort of precedence, Lauren. That dog isn't going to hunt. I see you making that argument in other forums and the like, but that's not a factual interpretation of what's happening here. And how dare you complain about mental illness and allow your lawyer to make unsubstantiated accusations on the courthouse steps about another child? By name?

I’m assuming Lauren is the mom and sorry but that’s not me but I’m guessing from the comments it’s personal and there are both parties represented here. I wouldn’t put my kid through this if she had mental health struggles, even if she begged me to fight it. It’s not healthy and I would as I suggested probably move her to a private school or move to a new district because I know from living there that LoCo is a small world, especially for the kids and with social media. I’m guessing you’re directly involved in this based on your comments but if you took the time to read my comment I said it was wrong to mention a child’s name—assuming she was 18 maybe it’s legal but absolutely wrong and no doubt that kid is now struggling too. I also said it’s bad because that entire team now has to deal with speculation that they’re bullies.

But I do stand by the fact that I find it hard to believe a senior girl would chose to switch high schools for that final year for the sole reason to potentially win a state championship in one sport. It’s just not something you see a girl who is happy and thriving at her school do. Plus, no offense this is not MD private school level lacrosse with a championship meaning you’re one of the best HS teams in the country, and if Indy is 16th how do they even have a shot not being top 10? At a minimum she was having social issues whether it was in school or in sports. And I’m not sure who has the right to question that because I would not respond well if someone was questioning if any of my daughters or sons was struggling—that’s gross.

And is this woman wrong saying that a kid who transferred for the same reasons but was in marching band could participate in that or could get the lead in a play? The rule only applies to sports? That seems a messed up message too.

Yes, she's wrong. VHSL stands for Virginia High School League. It governs athletics statewide. The eligibility provision is a statewide rule, not something LCPS made up. What they wanted was a WAIVER and LCPS denied it, likely because of the optics that have been discussed here. So they sued, arguing that their daughter had some right to play on the high school team because of her mental health. LCPS and a judge decided the interests of others outweighed that.

But there's NOTHING here that restricts a student who transfers from doing activities like marching band, theater, yearbook, Model UN, or whatever. And suggesting that there's some precedent here that DOES restrict transferees from doing that is just a lie. This is entirely about athletics. And the policy is in place to prevent recruiting between HS and player poaching.

Got it but in the competitive environment we live in to dismiss there couldn’t be “recruiting” of the smartest kids so kids could win academic competitions for pride and college applications or a kid wanting to move to the school with the best drama program so they can tout being the lead in so and so’s production on their acting resume seems wrong. It’s not fair to single out athletes and it’s wrong to dismiss the importance of these other activities. But I guess that’s another topic.

Seems like LCPS should have not granted the transfer waiver because they’ve now become the arbiter of a child’s mental health struggles. That’s scary. Whether people chose to believe her or not, I know it’s not my right to question her because I’m not living it. Plus it sounds like from the media that she’s been in therapy so again, LCPS should have denied the transfer knowing participation in sports for an established athlete is part of their identity and if a positive environment can play a healthy role in improving mental health. By granting the transfer waiver and not the sports LCPS set her up for failure. A very sad way for this girl to have to finish high school-I think we can all agree on that and hope that college provides her with a fresh and positive experience.

I have no idea about academic competitions -- they aren't covered by VHSL.

And it's not "scary" and no matter how much the family has tried to make it about her mental health, it hasn't thrust LCSP into the role of arbiter. And even if it was, they're still weighing the interest of one person against the interest of the whole, and in the case of athletic competitions, the whole has a defined meaning. If they allowed this, you'd start to see a whole bunch of others transferring to powerhouse athletic programs on the grounds of "mental illness."

There's also an acute sense of entitlement at work here. The family knew she'd be ineligible and just transferred anyway and figured they'd try to make a stink and force a waiver. It didn't work out for them.

She's going to play in college. Her lacrosse career isn't over. But let's really stop acting like she's a victim here.

100% it is “scary” especially based on LCPS’s and its school board’s history. Also your comments are very dismissive of a child’s mental health even if as it sounds you know and dislike her. Unless you’re the girl or her parent you’ll never know. People generally don’t publicize false mental health struggles to be ridiculed just like they don’t sexual assault. And no one said her career is over but it also is sad she can’t play her senior season—you can balance all of that anger with some compassion for a kid, especially assuming you’re a parent. It also doesn’t sound like she’d put the team over the top one way or the other unless she’s a goalie and Independence doesn’t have a seasoned one without her. But bottom line the transfer waiver shouldn’t have been granted which would have forced the family to move to private or elsewhere where she could protect her mental health and play the sport she loves her final year of high school. Sounds like it could have been an option for this family but not for most people so that also creates issues if we’re going to start disallowing sports participation by children with documented mental health struggles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School Board and Court denied her being able to play at Independence. She says she was bullied at Lightridge, but there's no real known evidence.

If she was bullied why didn't she choose to go to a school much closer to where she lives (ie John Champe, Freedom, etc.)? Instead chose the school that made it to the state finals in lacrosse last year.

My DD is friends with several girls on the Lightridge lacrosse team and they are pretty adamant that this is purely a desire to move to a better team team.

Not sure you’re familiar with the area but we previously lived in that area and Champe and Independence (there are cut throughs across rt. 50 to it) would be close to equally distant depending where she lived in the Lightridge zone, and Freedom farther. Not to mention the article said she had friends at Independence so a built in support system would be important if she was having social struggles affecting her mental health at Lightridge. I think we can all agree on that as parents. And since the girls who started the Lightridge team are now seniors I’d imagine they’d be similar in strength to Independence by this point. As far as what the girls are saying, if you’re a parent of teenagers you know that of course they all have opinions and not all of the facts unless they were directly involved. Regardless it’s ridiculous and a slippery slope to question the mental health of a teenage girl who wants to switch schools for her senior year-that’s not the norm. If she wanted a guarantee to win some sort of championship she probably would have switched to PVI. But it’s like a victim of assault—what teenage girl would really subject herself to this if she wasn’t struggling at her school. I also think it’s horrible a kid’s name was used from Lightridge and that the team as a whole has now been insinuated as bullies. Not sure why the school board dug their heels in sadly making this worse for all of the girls. They’ve also now set a precedent that if you’re struggling with mental health issues or bullying and you need to transfer schools that you can’t participate in sports and extracurriculars that are documented to help with mental health. Sad all around.

Indy was ranked 16th by MaxPreps, Lightridge in the 30s.

They've not set any sort of precedence, Lauren. That dog isn't going to hunt. I see you making that argument in other forums and the like, but that's not a factual interpretation of what's happening here. And how dare you complain about mental illness and allow your lawyer to make unsubstantiated accusations on the courthouse steps about another child? By name?

I’m assuming Lauren is the mom and sorry but that’s not me but I’m guessing from the comments it’s personal and there are both parties represented here. I wouldn’t put my kid through this if she had mental health struggles, even if she begged me to fight it. It’s not healthy and I would as I suggested probably move her to a private school or move to a new district because I know from living there that LoCo is a small world, especially for the kids and with social media. I’m guessing you’re directly involved in this based on your comments but if you took the time to read my comment I said it was wrong to mention a child’s name—assuming she was 18 maybe it’s legal but absolutely wrong and no doubt that kid is now struggling too. I also said it’s bad because that entire team now has to deal with speculation that they’re bullies.

But I do stand by the fact that I find it hard to believe a senior girl would chose to switch high schools for that final year for the sole reason to potentially win a state championship in one sport. It’s just not something you see a girl who is happy and thriving at her school do. Plus, no offense this is not MD private school level lacrosse with a championship meaning you’re one of the best HS teams in the country, and if Indy is 16th how do they even have a shot not being top 10? At a minimum she was having social issues whether it was in school or in sports. And I’m not sure who has the right to question that because I would not respond well if someone was questioning if any of my daughters or sons was struggling—that’s gross.

And is this woman wrong saying that a kid who transferred for the same reasons but was in marching band could participate in that or could get the lead in a play? The rule only applies to sports? That seems a messed up message too.

Yes, she's wrong. VHSL stands for Virginia High School League. It governs athletics statewide. The eligibility provision is a statewide rule, not something LCPS made up. What they wanted was a WAIVER and LCPS denied it, likely because of the optics that have been discussed here. So they sued, arguing that their daughter had some right to play on the high school team because of her mental health. LCPS and a judge decided the interests of others outweighed that.

But there's NOTHING here that restricts a student who transfers from doing activities like marching band, theater, yearbook, Model UN, or whatever. And suggesting that there's some precedent here that DOES restrict transferees from doing that is just a lie. This is entirely about athletics. And the policy is in place to prevent recruiting between HS and player poaching.

Got it but in the competitive environment we live in to dismiss there couldn’t be “recruiting” of the smartest kids so kids could win academic competitions for pride and college applications or a kid wanting to move to the school with the best drama program so they can tout being the lead in so and so’s production on their acting resume seems wrong. It’s not fair to single out athletes and it’s wrong to dismiss the importance of these other activities. But I guess that’s another topic.

Seems like LCPS should have not granted the transfer waiver because they’ve now become the arbiter of a child’s mental health struggles. That’s scary. Whether people chose to believe her or not, I know it’s not my right to question her because I’m not living it. Plus it sounds like from the media that she’s been in therapy so again, LCPS should have denied the transfer knowing participation in sports for an established athlete is part of their identity and if a positive environment can play a healthy role in improving mental health. By granting the transfer waiver and not the sports LCPS set her up for failure. A very sad way for this girl to have to finish high school-I think we can all agree on that and hope that college provides her with a fresh and positive experience.

I have no idea about academic competitions -- they aren't covered by VHSL.

And it's not "scary" and no matter how much the family has tried to make it about her mental health, it hasn't thrust LCSP into the role of arbiter. And even if it was, they're still weighing the interest of one person against the interest of the whole, and in the case of athletic competitions, the whole has a defined meaning. If they allowed this, you'd start to see a whole bunch of others transferring to powerhouse athletic programs on the grounds of "mental illness."

There's also an acute sense of entitlement at work here. The family knew she'd be ineligible and just transferred anyway and figured they'd try to make a stink and force a waiver. It didn't work out for them.

She's going to play in college. Her lacrosse career isn't over. But let's really stop acting like she's a victim here.

100% it is “scary” especially based on LCPS’s and its school board’s history. Also your comments are very dismissive of a child’s mental health even if as it sounds you know and dislike her. Unless you’re the girl or her parent you’ll never know. People generally don’t publicize false mental health struggles to be ridiculed just like they don’t sexual assault. And no one said her career is over but it also is sad she can’t play her senior season—you can balance all of that anger with some compassion for a kid, especially assuming you’re a parent. It also doesn’t sound like she’d put the team over the top one way or the other unless she’s a goalie and Independence doesn’t have a seasoned one without her. But bottom line the transfer waiver shouldn’t have been granted which would have forced the family to move to private or elsewhere where she could protect her mental health and play the sport she loves her final year of high school. Sounds like it could have been an option for this family but not for most people so that also creates issues if we’re going to start disallowing sports participation by children with documented mental health struggles.

I don't know the girl, never met the family. My curiosity is piqued because I have a daughter who plays for a different team that will face Independence. I'm also a coach in a different sport. I am skeptical of the mental health claims primarily because of the tone and tenor of their pressure PR campaign. I actually have a child who has severe mental health issues -- hospitalized, in fact. And so, honestly, I'm a little put off by their latching on to mental health as their reason. The fact that they allowed their lawyer to drag the name of another child through the mud to me suggests they really AREN'T CONCERNED about mental health -- or they would have taken the high road instead of intentionally inflicting distress on another child.

I'd also say that demanding the right to play as some salve for mental health issues is a stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The family is still stamping its feet and isn't giving up legally:

https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-school-board-lcps-bullying-lacrosse-lily-sigler-mental-health-sports-student-athlete-sports-community-high-school-athletics

I will say WJLA's coverage of this has been abysmal. Stick to Loudoun Now or Loudoun Times.

WJLA has an anti-LCPS agenda that I assume stems from their ownership (Sinclair).
Their reporting on this has been incredibly one-sided.

Amazing the defense of LCPS here. Guess it's ok to sweep all the corruption that has occurred in LCPS the past 4 years. Whether the reporting is biased or not, LCPS continues to show its ignorance.

Nothing that happened here is "corrupt," the unproven allegations on the courthouse steps by the family's lawyer notwithstanding. And this has exactly nothing to do with recent controversies, several of which (the CRT phantom menace, for example) were grossly exaggerated and egged on by WJLA and attracted outsiders to our community to stir up shit.

In this instance, there is a state rule. LCPS abided by the state rule. The family doesn't like it and sued in court. The court ruled against the family. The end.

Nice, dismissal of all the LCPS as a Star Wars reference. Now we see the real motive here, probably a LCPS employee saving face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School Board and Court denied her being able to play at Independence. She says she was bullied at Lightridge, but there's no real known evidence.

If she was bullied why didn't she choose to go to a school much closer to where she lives (ie John Champe, Freedom, etc.)? Instead chose the school that made it to the state finals in lacrosse last year.

My DD is friends with several girls on the Lightridge lacrosse team and they are pretty adamant that this is purely a desire to move to a better team team.

Not sure you’re familiar with the area but we previously lived in that area and Champe and Independence (there are cut throughs across rt. 50 to it) would be close to equally distant depending where she lived in the Lightridge zone, and Freedom farther. Not to mention the article said she had friends at Independence so a built in support system would be important if she was having social struggles affecting her mental health at Lightridge. I think we can all agree on that as parents. And since the girls who started the Lightridge team are now seniors I’d imagine they’d be similar in strength to Independence by this point. As far as what the girls are saying, if you’re a parent of teenagers you know that of course they all have opinions and not all of the facts unless they were directly involved. Regardless it’s ridiculous and a slippery slope to question the mental health of a teenage girl who wants to switch schools for her senior year-that’s not the norm. If she wanted a guarantee to win some sort of championship she probably would have switched to PVI. But it’s like a victim of assault—what teenage girl would really subject herself to this if she wasn’t struggling at her school. I also think it’s horrible a kid’s name was used from Lightridge and that the team as a whole has now been insinuated as bullies. Not sure why the school board dug their heels in sadly making this worse for all of the girls. They’ve also now set a precedent that if you’re struggling with mental health issues or bullying and you need to transfer schools that you can’t participate in sports and extracurriculars that are documented to help with mental health. Sad all around.

Indy was ranked 16th by MaxPreps, Lightridge in the 30s.

They've not set any sort of precedence, Lauren. That dog isn't going to hunt. I see you making that argument in other forums and the like, but that's not a factual interpretation of what's happening here. And how dare you complain about mental illness and allow your lawyer to make unsubstantiated accusations on the courthouse steps about another child? By name?

I’m assuming Lauren is the mom and sorry but that’s not me but I’m guessing from the comments it’s personal and there are both parties represented here. I wouldn’t put my kid through this if she had mental health struggles, even if she begged me to fight it. It’s not healthy and I would as I suggested probably move her to a private school or move to a new district because I know from living there that LoCo is a small world, especially for the kids and with social media. I’m guessing you’re directly involved in this based on your comments but if you took the time to read my comment I said it was wrong to mention a child’s name—assuming she was 18 maybe it’s legal but absolutely wrong and no doubt that kid is now struggling too. I also said it’s bad because that entire team now has to deal with speculation that they’re bullies.

But I do stand by the fact that I find it hard to believe a senior girl would chose to switch high schools for that final year for the sole reason to potentially win a state championship in one sport. It’s just not something you see a girl who is happy and thriving at her school do. Plus, no offense this is not MD private school level lacrosse with a championship meaning you’re one of the best HS teams in the country, and if Indy is 16th how do they even have a shot not being top 10? At a minimum she was having social issues whether it was in school or in sports. And I’m not sure who has the right to question that because I would not respond well if someone was questioning if any of my daughters or sons was struggling—that’s gross.

And is this woman wrong saying that a kid who transferred for the same reasons but was in marching band could participate in that or could get the lead in a play? The rule only applies to sports? That seems a messed up message too.

Yes, she's wrong. VHSL stands for Virginia High School League. It governs athletics statewide. The eligibility provision is a statewide rule, not something LCPS made up. What they wanted was a WAIVER and LCPS denied it, likely because of the optics that have been discussed here. So they sued, arguing that their daughter had some right to play on the high school team because of her mental health. LCPS and a judge decided the interests of others outweighed that.

But there's NOTHING here that restricts a student who transfers from doing activities like marching band, theater, yearbook, Model UN, or whatever. And suggesting that there's some precedent here that DOES restrict transferees from doing that is just a lie. This is entirely about athletics. And the policy is in place to prevent recruiting between HS and player poaching.

Got it but in the competitive environment we live in to dismiss there couldn’t be “recruiting” of the smartest kids so kids could win academic competitions for pride and college applications or a kid wanting to move to the school with the best drama program so they can tout being the lead in so and so’s production on their acting resume seems wrong. It’s not fair to single out athletes and it’s wrong to dismiss the importance of these other activities. But I guess that’s another topic.

Seems like LCPS should have not granted the transfer waiver because they’ve now become the arbiter of a child’s mental health struggles. That’s scary. Whether people chose to believe her or not, I know it’s not my right to question her because I’m not living it. Plus it sounds like from the media that she’s been in therapy so again, LCPS should have denied the transfer knowing participation in sports for an established athlete is part of their identity and if a positive environment can play a healthy role in improving mental health. By granting the transfer waiver and not the sports LCPS set her up for failure. A very sad way for this girl to have to finish high school-I think we can all agree on that and hope that college provides her with a fresh and positive experience.

I have no idea about academic competitions -- they aren't covered by VHSL.

And it's not "scary" and no matter how much the family has tried to make it about her mental health, it hasn't thrust LCSP into the role of arbiter. And even if it was, they're still weighing the interest of one person against the interest of the whole, and in the case of athletic competitions, the whole has a defined meaning. If they allowed this, you'd start to see a whole bunch of others transferring to powerhouse athletic programs on the grounds of "mental illness."

There's also an acute sense of entitlement at work here. The family knew she'd be ineligible and just transferred anyway and figured they'd try to make a stink and force a waiver. It didn't work out for them.

She's going to play in college. Her lacrosse career isn't over. But let's really stop acting like she's a victim here.

100% it is “scary” especially based on LCPS’s and its school board’s history. Also your comments are very dismissive of a child’s mental health even if as it sounds you know and dislike her. Unless you’re the girl or her parent you’ll never know. People generally don’t publicize false mental health struggles to be ridiculed just like they don’t sexual assault. And no one said her career is over but it also is sad she can’t play her senior season—you can balance all of that anger with some compassion for a kid, especially assuming you’re a parent. It also doesn’t sound like she’d put the team over the top one way or the other unless she’s a goalie and Independence doesn’t have a seasoned one without her. But bottom line the transfer waiver shouldn’t have been granted which would have forced the family to move to private or elsewhere where she could protect her mental health and play the sport she loves her final year of high school. Sounds like it could have been an option for this family but not for most people so that also creates issues if we’re going to start disallowing sports participation by children with documented mental health struggles.

I don't know the girl, never met the family. My curiosity is piqued because I have a daughter who plays for a different team that will face Independence. I'm also a coach in a different sport. I am skeptical of the mental health claims primarily because of the tone and tenor of their pressure PR campaign. I actually have a child who has severe mental health issues -- hospitalized, in fact. And so, honestly, I'm a little put off by their latching on to mental health as their reason. The fact that they allowed their lawyer to drag the name of another child through the mud to me suggests they really AREN'T CONCERNED about mental health -- or they would have taken the high road instead of intentionally inflicting distress on another child.

I'd also say that demanding the right to play as some salve for mental health issues is a stretch.

Sorry about your child and I get it. I try to assume the best in people and just have no clue how I’d respond to protect my child especially if people were public ally dismissing and questioning their mental health. I surely hope I wouldn't allow my attorney to bring another child into the discussion publicly but certainly the child would have had to share the information about the alleged bullies to her attorney. But as a parent of a child who has also struggled with mental health and found sports in a healthy environment (and they’re not all if you have the wrong coach/wrong team culture) to be a great compliment to their medical treatments. I’ve read the positive impact it can have and thankfully witnessed it. Clearly it is not a right to play but knowing the benefits I have compassion for the girl and to the degree they want to protect and support their child, the parents too. How they’ve handled it is not necessarily what I would have done but it’s not my child, not my story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The family is still stamping its feet and isn't giving up legally:

https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-school-board-lcps-bullying-lacrosse-lily-sigler-mental-health-sports-student-athlete-sports-community-high-school-athletics

I will say WJLA's coverage of this has been abysmal. Stick to Loudoun Now or Loudoun Times.

WJLA has an anti-LCPS agenda that I assume stems from their ownership (Sinclair).
Their reporting on this has been incredibly one-sided.

Amazing the defense of LCPS here. Guess it's ok to sweep all the corruption that has occurred in LCPS the past 4 years. Whether the reporting is biased or not, LCPS continues to show its ignorance.

Nothing that happened here is "corrupt," the unproven allegations on the courthouse steps by the family's lawyer notwithstanding. And this has exactly nothing to do with recent controversies, several of which (the CRT phantom menace, for example) were grossly exaggerated and egged on by WJLA and attracted outsiders to our community to stir up shit.

In this instance, there is a state rule. LCPS abided by the state rule. The family doesn't like it and sued in court. The court ruled against the family. The end.

Nice, dismissal of all the LCPS as a Star Wars reference. Now we see the real motive here, probably a LCPS employee saving face.

There's no "face to save" and I'm not an LCPS employee. I'm the parent of a child on a team that has to play Independence (and Lightridge) this season.

It's almost like you think there's some universal consensus that LCPS is evil and the girl is some victim here. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The parents stood up for her and made a case. Good for them. They lost. Continuing to sling broadsides against the district for complying with state rules as corrupt, random imaginary "people of color" who might get away with something and publicly accusing another child and her mother of bullying is really a bad look. Take the loss, let her play at Kenyon next year. She'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

And I am sure Kenyon is thrilled for all of this drama for a student athlete joining their school.
I know D3 coaches are very concerned about recruiting athletes who come with intense parents. I have 2 close friends who are D3 coaches and after coaches have been fired due to kids not getting enough playing time (some parent pressuring the administration) they do their best to stay away from athletes who might come with a lot of parent management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I am sure Kenyon is thrilled for all of this drama for a student athlete joining their school.
I know D3 coaches are very concerned about recruiting athletes who come with intense parents. I have 2 close friends who are D3 coaches and after coaches have been fired due to kids not getting enough playing time (some parent pressuring the administration) they do their best to stay away from athletes who might come with a lot of parent management.

To hear the girl's father say it in the Loudoun Now comments, they have Kenyon's support in this, but that thought crossed my mind, too. Are they going to demand that she have more playing time for her mental health in college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I am sure Kenyon is thrilled for all of this drama for a student athlete joining their school.
I know D3 coaches are very concerned about recruiting athletes who come with intense parents. I have 2 close friends who are D3 coaches and after coaches have been fired due to kids not getting enough playing time (some parent pressuring the administration) they do their best to stay away from athletes who might come with a lot of parent management.

To hear the girl's father say it in the Loudoun Now comments, they have Kenyon's support in this, but that thought crossed my mind, too. Are they going to demand that she have more playing time for her mental health in college?

I am confident Kenyon did not say - sure mention the bully's name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The family is still stamping its feet and isn't giving up legally:

https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-school-board-lcps-bullying-lacrosse-lily-sigler-mental-health-sports-student-athlete-sports-community-high-school-athletics

I will say WJLA's coverage of this has been abysmal. Stick to Loudoun Now or Loudoun Times.

WJLA has an anti-LCPS agenda that I assume stems from their ownership (Sinclair).
Their reporting on this has been incredibly one-sided.

Amazing the defense of LCPS here. Guess it's ok to sweep all the corruption that has occurred in LCPS the past 4 years. Whether the reporting is biased or not, LCPS continues to show its ignorance.

Nothing that happened here is "corrupt," the unproven allegations on the courthouse steps by the family's lawyer notwithstanding. And this has exactly nothing to do with recent controversies, several of which (the CRT phantom menace, for example) were grossly exaggerated and egged on by WJLA and attracted outsiders to our community to stir up shit.

In this instance, there is a state rule. LCPS abided by the state rule. The family doesn't like it and sued in court. The court ruled against the family. The end.

Nice, dismissal of all the LCPS as a Star Wars reference. Now we see the real motive here, probably a LCPS employee saving face.

There's no "face to save" and I'm not an LCPS employee. I'm the parent of a child on a team that has to play Independence (and Lightridge) this season.

It's almost like you think there's some universal consensus that LCPS is evil and the girl is some victim here. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The parents stood up for her and made a case. Good for them. They lost. Continuing to sling broadsides against the district for complying with state rules as corrupt, random imaginary "people of color" who might get away with something and publicly accusing another child and her mother of bullying is really a bad look. Take the loss, let her play at Kenyon next year. She'll be fine.

Gotta say you sound more like a parent whose kid’s team is not that strong worrying about having to play a supposed stronger Independence team if this girl was on it. And as a parent saying this girl will be fine, is dismissive of anything experienced which you wouldn’t know if you’re not close to the family. You seem rather knowledgeable and invested for not having a kid at either school not to mention perhaps missing a sensitivity chip. Whether you don’t/do agree with LCPS try to remember she’s a kid hoping to play a sport she loves with friends her senior year—treat her with the same grace you’d hope someone would treat yours.

[Anonymous]

Wow, it's girls public high school lacrosse. Let her play. I'm trying to figure out if a girl transferring for any reason is going to start an avalanche of transfers. The family should have done what Jackson Reed, aka Wilson Public High school, did for years in basketball. That is to just rent an apartment in the new district for a few months and claim geographic change of residence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The family is still stamping its feet and isn't giving up legally:

https://wjla.com/news/local/loudoun-county-school-board-lcps-bullying-lacrosse-lily-sigler-mental-health-sports-student-athlete-sports-community-high-school-athletics

I will say WJLA's coverage of this has been abysmal. Stick to Loudoun Now or Loudoun Times.

WJLA has an anti-LCPS agenda that I assume stems from their ownership (Sinclair).
Their reporting on this has been incredibly one-sided.

Amazing the defense of LCPS here. Guess it's ok to sweep all the corruption that has occurred in LCPS the past 4 years. Whether the reporting is biased or not, LCPS continues to show its ignorance.

Nothing that happened here is "corrupt," the unproven allegations on the courthouse steps by the family's lawyer notwithstanding. And this has exactly nothing to do with recent controversies, several of which (the CRT phantom menace, for example) were grossly exaggerated and egged on by WJLA and attracted outsiders to our community to stir up shit.

In this instance, there is a state rule. LCPS abided by the state rule. The family doesn't like it and sued in court. The court ruled against the family. The end.

Nice, dismissal of all the LCPS as a Star Wars reference. Now we see the real motive here, probably a LCPS employee saving face.

There's no "face to save" and I'm not an LCPS employee. I'm the parent of a child on a team that has to play Independence (and Lightridge) this season.

It's almost like you think there's some universal consensus that LCPS is evil and the girl is some victim here. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The parents stood up for her and made a case. Good for them. They lost. Continuing to sling broadsides against the district for complying with state rules as corrupt, random imaginary "people of color" who might get away with something and publicly accusing another child and her mother of bullying is really a bad look. Take the loss, let her play at Kenyon next year. She'll be fine.

You are worried so much about facing her potential new school that you go on a forum with tired talking points? Focus on getting your kid better instead of worrying about who is playing for the other team.

[Anonymous]

Indy lacrosse has had a lot of controversy in the past year. The Dad on the boys team who got the coach fired, the girls coach who allegedly embezzled, and now this. I assume that this transfer attempt was a team effort between the coach and the family?