Organizers behind a soccer tournament that disqualified a girl's team are responding to criticism that say the decision was made because one of the team's top player 'looked like a boy.' They say a typo in the roster led to the disqualification rather than a player's haircut.
Eight-year-old Mili Hernandez told WOWT 6 News that her soccer team, The Azzuri-Cachorros Chicas, was disqualified because of her short haircut. “They only did it because I look like a boy,” Mili says. Organizers say that's not the case.
This weekend, when Mili's team advanced to the final day of the Springfield Girls Soccer Invitational, they were suddenly disqualified. The Springfield Soccer Association claims Mili's appearance wasn't the issue – a misprint on a team roster caused the confusion.
On the roster, Mili is listed as a boy. In a statement to WOWT 6 News, the soccer club said, "Listing a male player on a girls team roster is a violation of state and tournament rules." Mili's coach says the mistake was a typo by a registrar. He tried to correct the error at the tournament. Mili's family claims they went so far as to show her insurance card to tournament organizers - proving Mili is indeed a girl. “We had a doctor's physical form and it gave a description and it said her age and female, so we showed them that but they wouldn't look at it,” said Cruz Hernandez, Mili's brother.
Two high profile women soccer players, Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach have come to Mili's defense.In an Instagram post, Wambach said, "Dear Mili Hernandez, you are amazing in every way. Thank you for teaching us how to be brave and shining a light on something so hurtful. If you don't know, she is my new hero. Her team was disqualified from a tourney cause they thought she was a boy because of a clerical error that wasn't handled properly. Let's meet soon sister."