Special Needs Student Told To Remove Varsity Lette

mikelive · Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:41 pm

A special needs student at a Kansas high school has been ordered by the Principal to remove a Varsity letter that he wears on a jacket. The letter, which was not earned by playing a Varsity sport, was purchased by the boy's mother.

I've seen this story on quite a few different websites and the social commentary is just amazing. It's about 50-50 that the school is overreacting and the boy should keep the letter on his jacket; while the other side says that he didn't earn the letter, so he shouldn't wear it. (I've seen the phrase "stolen valor" thrown around.)

Personally, I'm conflicted on how I should feel on this. Full disclosure: I lettered 12 times in high school (4 yrs x 3 sports) ... for doing extensive video work. That was from 1988-92 though. I don't have my jacket anymore although I wish I did.

What say you, A-netters?

Read the article here: http://ksn.com/2015/03/26/special-ne...-told-to-remove-his-letter-jacket/

WarRI1 · Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:56 pm

Where is the humanity in this situation? This boy has done nothing wrong. I understand the Mother completly. This is nothing , it is trivial. The boy wants to belong. He is certainly Special needs.
He deserves special treatment. His mother was trying to help him, nothing more.

casinterest · Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:00 am

It's a difficult situation, but in this case, the letter is earned, not purchased. If the coaches and teams had bestowed this award, I think it would stand . However, I see no reason for a purchased letter to stand. There is however an out for the coach and the team if they feel the need to bestow it.

BMI727 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 1:43 am

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
It's about 50-50 that the school is overreacting and the boy should keep the letter on his jacket;

True.

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
while the other side says that he didn't earn the letter, so he shouldn't wear it.

Also true.

Honestly, wearing a letter one didn't earn is something I'd never do. (I played varsity sports in high school, but never bothered with the jacket) It's frankly weird and tacky. But I can't imagine what authority the school would have to stop it or why anyone should care that much. This one's dumb on both sides.

DDR · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:04 am

He is a special needs student for crying out loud. The school and the athletes should stand up for the guy. Of course everyone knows he didn't earn it. I applaud his mom for trying to make him feel normal.

At the high school I went to, we would rally around this guy. Where is the compassion anymore?

vikkyvik · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:05 am

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 3):
This one's dumb on both sides.

Both sides? I can't really fault a mom for buying a letter for her son's jacket (who has Down's and autism per the article), if it makes him happy.

The real question is, why can anyone buy the letter if they're not supposed to wear it?

WarRI1 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:18 am

Quoting DDR (Reply 4):
He is a special needs student for crying out loud. The school and the athletes should stand up for the guy. Of course everyone knows he didn't earn it. I applaud his mom for trying to make him feel normal.

At the high school I went to, we would rally around this guy. Where is the compassion anymore?

Absolutely, put yourself in the Mothers shoes. I certainly know people with special children, they would give their right arm to not have this problem with a child, yet they love them more because of it. I could certainly ask the same, where the hell is the compassion? This is another absurdity, so common these days. The fooking age of Self. The label (Special), says it all.

L-188 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:33 am

I'm a bit torn on this one too

If the mom just bought one, than I think It isn't appropriate. If they kid was working as the equipment or water boy on the team and it is an honorary deal, than I don't an issue with it. I don't know what version is more correct.

Fully disclosure, I had an academic letter and two sports letters, however those where pity letters given out to seniors who where the teams but never letter. Needless to say I didn't have a jacket, not that at the time I had a girl that would be willing to wear it.

Quoting WarRI1 (Reply 6):
shoes. I certainly know people with special children, they would give their right arm to not have this problem with a child, yet they love them more because of it.

It reeks of soccer mom syndrome and making kids play on teams that don't keep score.

DeltaMD90 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:49 am

Meh, let it go. While I think the mom was pushing it, I don't see the harm in it. Everyone knows what is going on, why stir things up?

WarRI1 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:52 am

Quoting L-188 (Reply 7):

It reeks of soccer mom syndrome and making kids play on teams that don't keep score.

It reeks? I suggest it does not reek at all. It tells of a loving desparate Mother trying to make her child feel normal among a crowd of whole children, blessed children who will live like most of us do, able to work, go to college, marry if they choose, have children of their own. She will most likely never see this from this child, her child. Reeks? That is absurd. Does anyone think the students do not know this boy did not win this letter, or really cares if he did not?

[Edited 2015-03-27 20:58:12]

I voted in the poll on the link, 86% said they agree the Special Athletes should be awarded letters.

[Edited 2015-03-27 21:15:48]

[Edited 2015-03-27 21:17:21]

DeltaMD90 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:07 am

Quoting L-188 (Reply 7):
It reeks of soccer mom syndrome and making kids play on teams that don't keep score.

I would normally agree, but come on, the kid is autistic

Mir · Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:11 am

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
(I've seen the phrase "stolen valor" thrown around.)

That's just BS, and anyone who would equate the two is simply not living in reality.

With that said, I do see the school's point (unless the kid was doing something in support of the school's team, in which case he should get the letter). But I really hope that a big deal isn't being made of this - it's really not worth it.

-Mir

UltimateDelta · Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:46 am

Quoting DDR (Reply 4):
He is a special needs student for crying out loud. The school and the athletes should stand up for the guy. Of course everyone knows he didn't earn it. I applaud his mom for trying to make him feel normal.

At the high school I went to, we would rally around this guy.

Completely agree. At my high school, there was a sizeable group of special-needs kids (my own brother included), and I can't think of a single person who would've objected to them showing their school pride in this kind of way- I know of several who proudly wore their letter jackets pretty much daily. Heck, my junior year, the football team even named one of them as the honorary captain for the homecoming game. And as a varsity athlete, I absolutely would never have felt like whatever "honor" bestowed upon me was being diminished by acknowledging something that would make these kids happy.

What always annoyed me in high school was how seriously people (99% of the time, the administrators) took all the stupid "traditions" they tried to convince us were important, and it pisses me off to see it happening here.

opethfan · Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:10 am

Simple. The school embroiderer adds "Honorary" to the back of the jacket, gives him a matching "honorary" trophy when the team wins, and invites him to every game.

Aesma · Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:51 am

I have now learned what a varsity letter is, I just thought it was something tacky jocks wore in US high schools.

blueflyer · Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:31 am

Quoting DDR (Reply 4):
I applaud his mom for trying to make him feel normal.

You do realize there are plenty of "normal" students who don't wear letters, right? After reading the article, I think the mother's decision to buy a jacket is perfectly reasonable, and if the school did indeed have a policy that was violated, it ought to have been, and could have been, changed on the spot since there is no district-wide policy on the matter.

But let's not act as though a varsity letter separates the normal kids from the abnormal ones. Varsity letters bestow recognition for, and pride in, certain accomplishments, not normality.

Redd · Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:36 pm

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
I'm conflicted on how I should feel on this

Really, denying a disabled kid a 'letter' to make him feel more accepted? Conflicted?

Quoting DDR (Reply 4):

He is a special needs student for crying out loud. The school and the athletes should stand up for the guy. Of course everyone knows he didn't earn it. I applaud his mom for trying to make him feel normal.

Quoting WarRI1 (Reply 6):
This is another absurdity, so common these days. The fooking age of Self

It's high school sports, the letter in reality matters nothing. It's the one thing that puzzles me about American Culture, the obsession with children and young adults and sports. The bumper stickers, lawn signs.... I get it, your kid can catch a ball, but can he do a Thoracic aortic dissection repair? No? Then shut up already! Silly

[Edited 2015-03-28 09:46:28]

LittleFokker · Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:57 pm

Quoting Redd (Reply 16):
It's high school sports, the letter in reality matters nothing.

I got two letters for playing varsity golf. Never wore them, never bought a jacket, not even sure where they are anymore. I guess I was comfortable not pretending to be a jock (and believe me, I wasn't).

Quoting opethfan (Reply 13):
Simple. The school embroiderer adds "Honorary" to the back of the jacket, gives him a matching "honorary" trophy when the team wins, and invites him to every game.

I like this idea, but only the part about adding honorary to the back of the jacket. The trophy and invitation to every home game seems like overkill.

--------------------------------------

Bottom line - high school pride is a thing of the past. This is much ado about nothing. Let the kid wear the letter and jacket it if makes him happy.

WestJet747 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:05 pm

Quoting UltimateDelta (Reply 12):
What always annoyed me in high school was how seriously people (99% of the time, the administrators) took all the stupid "traditions" they tried to convince us were important, and it pisses me off to see it happening here.

Quoting Aesma (Reply 14):
I have now learned what a varsity letter is, I just thought it was something tacky jocks wore in US high schools.

No, you were right the first time.

Notice the flags next to the names of the posters defending the school. It's completely symptomatic of a system in the US (and in Canada) that puts athletics on a pedestal. Could you imagine this being a story if the kid had a chess team or debate team emblem on his jacket? Of course not, because our system promotes this superficial superiority through sport that is not found anywhere else, and national test scores only prove that misalignment of priorities in the schools.

I was a 12-time athlete in high school (football, curling, rugby), so I know this better than most, and the whole thing reeks of false entitlement. Let the kid wear the letter and feel good about himself if that's in fact what it does. Nobody is confusing him for a star athlete, and anyone who wants to rob the kid of that little bit of joy should check themselves.

seb146 · Sat Mar 28, 2015 6:27 pm

I have read on a couple of different sites that he was just wearing a jacket with no letter.

I can not stand that athletes are conditioned at such a young age that they are better than everyone else. That is where part of our problem lies as a nation, I think.

If someone has a passion for something, let them show it. He may not get a letter for basketball, but he loves the sport. Let him wear the jacket. That does not take away from what goes on in my life.

opethfan · Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:39 pm

Quoting LittleFokker (Reply 17):
I like this idea, but only the part about adding honorary to the back of the jacket. The trophy and invitation to every home game seems like overkill.

I was just thinking about smoothing over the bad press.

Pyrex · Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:47 pm

Quoting Aesma (Reply 14):

I have now learned what a varsity letter is, I just thought it was something tacky jocks wore in US high schools.

Same here, and I have been living in the U.S. for almost 8 years now, and have gotten to truly appreciate most aspects of American culture most Europeans sneeze at, but one that I cannot understand for the life of me is:

Quoting Redd (Reply 16):
It's the one thing that puzzles me about American Culture, the obsession with children and young adults and sports.

I just find it ironic how Socialist Europe teaches the U.S. a lesson on free markets when it comes to sports. Just look at the whole March Madness non-sense going on right now.

DocLightning · Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:51 pm

I lettered four times in high school (Swim team, the only team that ever won state championships). It was one of the few sports in which you could letter as a Freshman.

Having a letter totally changed your social life in school. It earned respect, it stopped bullies from picking on you (well, they didn't want 35 angry swimmers ganging up on them), and for the straight boys...it got them laid. Oh, and lest we forget: a varsity letter means nothing when a girl earns it and wears it. After all, girls' sports aren't real sports.

Looking back on it...it's a very odd tradition (to phrase it diplomatically).

N1120A · Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:39 pm

I lettered for swimming and still have my letter and little swimmer attachment somewhere, though I never bothered with a jacket. I have no issue with what this kid's mom did. In fact, she should get an award for being a good mom.

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
Full disclosure: I lettered 12 times in high school (4 yrs x 3 sports) ... for doing extensive video work.

They gave letters to anyone even slightly connected to sports, including just about all of the special education kids, who were always doing stuff to help the teams. I don't see why they can't just do that for this kid, who is just trying to be as normal as possible.

Quoting WarRI1 (Reply 1):
Where is the humanity in this situation?

Exactly.

Aesma · Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:16 am

If you're a normal kid (not special needs or other physical reason) and don't care about sports, can you avoid doing any in US high schools ?

DocLightning · Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:35 am

Quoting Aesma (Reply 24):

If you're a normal kid (not special needs or other physical reason) and don't care about sports, can you avoid doing any in US high schools ?

Or course. We do have physical education classes, but those are usually only one semester. There are lots of kids who don't play on school sports teams.

BMI727 · Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:46 am

Quoting vikkyvik (Reply 5):
I can't really fault a mom for buying a letter for her son's jacket (who has Down's and autism per the article), if it makes him happy.

There's making him happy and then maybe learning a life lesson. I can understand the people who worked hard to earn the same letter not being happy with the situation, but that doesn't give them or the school the right to stop her.

Quoting UltimateDelta (Reply 12):
Heck, my junior year, the football team even named one of them as the honorary captain for the homecoming game. And as a varsity athlete, I absolutely would never have felt like whatever "honor" bestowed upon me was being diminished by acknowledging something that would make these kids happy.

I never even wore the letters I earned. I don't even know where they are now, probably buried in a pile of stuff at my parents' house.

That said, these things are emphasized differently at different schools.

Quoting Pyrex (Reply 21):
I just find it ironic how Socialist Europe teaches the U.S. a lesson on free markets when it comes to sports. Just look at the whole March Madness non-sense going on right now.

The NCAA is corrupt an organization as you will find in the country. But that's another thread... I will say I root for Calipari, he's the most honest man in college sports.

Quoting N1120A (Reply 23):
I have no issue with what this kid's mom did. In fact, she should get an award for being a good mom.

Parents just buying their kids whatever they think will make them happy, especially things that typically have to be earned is questionable parenting.

Quoting Aesma (Reply 24):

If you're a normal kid (not special needs or other physical reason) and don't care about sports, can you avoid doing any in US high schools ?

Public schools yes, but some private schools require participation in a sport.

rugger · Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:55 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 25):
Or course. We do have physical education classes, but those are usually only one semester.

We had physical education classes every day for all four years of high school. Mostly team playing sports, basketball, touch football, handball, tennis, etc.

UltimateDelta · Sun Mar 29, 2015 3:01 am

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
I never even wore the letters I earned.

Neither did I- it was nice to get them and all, but I wasn't so wrapped up in it that I wanted to show it off. Plenty of others did, which I get, and if it makes this kid happy to do so ("earned" or not- like I said before, people took that way too seriously), I don't see the problem.

StuckInCA · Sun Mar 29, 2015 3:22 am

Quoting casinterest (Reply 2):
the letter is earned

Look, if someone can earn letters for...

Quoting mikelive (Thread starter):
doing extensive video work

...then the spirit of them is already gone. Can you imagine in the 50's or 60's what high school football players would have thought if someone doing video work were going to get a letter?

Now, I'm not saying that's right but that the whole concept is outdated. On top of that, any compassionate person wouldn't care what the kid wears.

DocLightning · Sun Mar 29, 2015 5:38 am

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
Parents just buying their kids whatever they think will make them happy, especially things that typically have to be earned is questionable parenting.

The child has mental retardation. I don't know him, but those may not be relevant concepts to him.

The simple solution for this is for a team to adopt him as an honorary member and give him a letter. If this had happened when I was captain of the swim team, it's what I would have done.

seb146 · Sun Mar 29, 2015 7:49 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 30):
The simple solution for this is for a team to adopt him as an honorary member and give him a letter. If this had happened when I was captain of the swim team, it's what I would have done.

Many teams do this these days. Not really a big deal.

We need to put this in perspective:

It is one kid with Downs who loves basketball. It is not a pot smoking gamer in mom's basement. This is a kid who just wants to feel included. He was born with a chromosome abnormality and his parents are trying to help him feel included. The other players don't seem to care. One parent is on a rampage.

N1120A · Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:09 am

Quoting Aesma (Reply 24):
If you're a normal kid (not special needs or other physical reason) and don't care about sports, can you avoid doing any in US high schools ?

Yes. There is usually a laughably minor PE requirement. Along with junk in the cafeteria.

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
Parents just buying their kids whatever they think will make them happy, especially things that typically have to be earned is questionable parenting.

Oh come on. This is not some completely normal kid who is whining about sitting around, being lazy, and not contributing. This is a child with a serious genetic abnormality who has a parent that is trying to make him feel as normal as possible. When I was in school, this was never an issue. Special needs kids would always get their varsity letters, if so inclined, simply by being adopted by a team and maybe helping out a little. It sounds here like no one had even a slice of heart to help this poor kid, so his mom did what I would have done too in her situation.

Quoting seb146 (Reply 31):
Many teams do this these days. Not really a big deal.

Exactly. I'm actually shocked that someone is so heartless.

DDR · Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:05 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 30):

Doc, I really respect you and your post. I completely agree. Why people can't just have simple compassion for another human being without having to try to debate the whole issue is beyond me.

I guess it just shows how low society has sunk.

WarRI1 · Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:30 am

Quoting DDR (Reply 33):
I guess it just shows how low society has sunk.

I heard on the news here, it was parents, I do not know how many complained about this boy. Imagine a parent having a healthy child, and trying to glorify their child's accomplishment and then trying to deny an unfortunate parent without a healthy child the ability to feel like like their child is part of school society. Dispicable conduct to me.

Flighty · Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:32 am

There is only one retarded person in this story, and that is the principal.

LFutia · Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:36 am

I have a brother with special needs, kind of similar as to what this child has. My brother likes to go to our high school even though he doesnt go there any more and help out with the sports teams. They've adopted him as a helper for different sports and EVERYONE knows my brother which is a good thing but never has he ever gotten a letter jacket. Not that he cares, he just wants to have fun and be part of the team. Thats all he wants.

Kudos to the mom who is trying to make her son feel as normal as possible. After reading up on some other related stories through KSN, its good to see that my Chicago Bulls have reached out to the family. I hope one day, they come and enjoy a basketball game. I think he'll enjoy it.

Leo/ORD

BMI727 · Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:09 am

Quoting N1120A (Reply 32):
When I was in school, this was never an issue. Special needs kids would always get their varsity letters, if so inclined, simply by being adopted by a team and maybe helping out a little.

At my school the managers always got letters. That said, I don't know what the policy of this school and emphasis on such things is.

jetblueguy22 · Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:15 am

Maybe sports are different where I grew up. I lettered all four years of high school. Never bought the jacket. They're all still collecting dust on my bookshelf at home.

Who cares? It's a letter. Let the kid wear it. He isn't harming anybody. I think the stink about it by the mother is a little dramatic. But I'm sure if it was my kid I would want him to feel good and included as well.
Pat

4holer · Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:19 am

The team should give him an honorary letter to sidestep the principal. And as ridiculous as it is to need to do that, the complaining parents may still do so, so cut about a millimeter off of one corner and so the idiot parents can be told it is not a whole and official letter.

vikkyvik · Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:15 pm

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
There's making him happy and then maybe learning a life lesson.

Is this particular kid capable of learning said life lesson? It's possible the answer is no.

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
Parents just buying their kids whatever they think will make them happy, especially things that typically have to be earned is questionable parenting.

I find it quite difficult to rush to judgment of parents of mentally handicapped kids.

WarRI1 · Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:35 pm

Quoting vikkyvik (Reply 40):
I find it quite difficult to rush to judgment of parents of mentally handicapped kids.

I most certainly agree with your statement. Every parental and Grandparent emotion, and feeling that I posess tells me I would do the same for this boy. How anyone can not feel for these children, and understand the parents of such is beyond me. Something is lacking, what I will never know. These types of discussions are best discussed face to face, for obvious reasons. I cannot do justice to my true feelings about such on here, and I sometimes find that enraging to me.

DeltaMD90 · Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:02 pm

I was so un-preppy... I got a letter and didn't know what to do with it. I thought they just gave out letters. I thought (what turned out to be letter jackets) were jackets for the soccer team

runner13 · Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:27 am

I was an 8 time letterman in high school for cross country and track. Ended up getting a college scholarship. Let me tell ya. No one cared about runners in my high school or even college. Didn't get me laid more or make me more popular. Some of the non athletes called me a jock but I never considered myself one. I never wore my high school letter jacket, but I did my college jacket. To me that was a since of pride that I was a division 1 athlete. We had a challenged guy at my school and our football team game him a letter jacket and let him run out of the tunnel and stand on the sidelines with the team. I don't see what the big deal is.

vikkyvik · Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:51 am

Quoting runner13 (Reply 43):
I was an 8 time letterman in high school for cross country and track.

I think I was an 8-time letterman as well. And like you, it didn't matter one bit.

Sure, I wore my jacket, as did other people. But it really wasn't any special thing at all. I'm not sure I ever put any thought into "hey, I'm playing varsity sports, I need to show off my jacket!" It was more like, "it's cold outside, and this jacket does a pretty good job of keeping me warm".

Maybe that's because my high school was fairly small - 700 people total - and we weren't exactly spectacular in sports.

Plus, I ain't no jock, not by a long shot. Maybe one of the benefits of going to a small school was that it wasn't quite as clique-ish. Sure, there were groups of friends and whatnot, but we'd go to a house party on a random Saturday night along with all the other groups of people.

Hmmm, maybe that's why The Breakfast Club isn't at all significant for me.

Anyway, point being, I don't think any of us at my high school would have given a rodent's behind about a special needs student wearing a jacket/letter that they may not have earned.

Aesma · Tue Mar 31, 2015 5:58 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 25):
Or course. We do have physical education classes, but those are usually only one semester. There are lots of kids who don't play on school sports teams.

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 26):
Public schools yes, but some private schools require participation in a sport.

Quoting Rugger (Reply 27):
We had physical education classes every day for all four years of high school. Mostly team playing sports, basketball, touch football, handball, tennis, etc.

Quoting N1120A (Reply 32):
Yes. There is usually a laughably minor PE requirement. Along with junk in the cafeteria.

It seems to vary then, interesting. I was trying to reconcile the cult of sport and the obesity epidemic in the US.

In France sport is mandatory through high school, but is not as intense, only 2 times a week for 1,5 hours. In my opinion it should be increased, with "easy" choices for the non sport inclined like me, for example after some time I could run for much longer than I thought possible, by just going at my own rhythm, I was also quite good at table tennis, and aced weight lifting !

On the other hand we are far from having the kind of sport installations US high schools got, and there is no such thing as "high school sports" or "college sports" for that matter, in fact there isn't any sport after high school. It's common for several schools to share the same stadium/gymnasium, and forget about a pool. Well in my case we had all that but it was an affluent place, there was even golf as a choice, on the course used for the Open de France.

N1120A · Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:21 pm

Quoting Aesma (Reply 45):
It seems to vary then, interesting. I was trying to reconcile the cult of sport and the obesity epidemic in the US.

The US has a lot of extremes, and also the junk allowed into the food supply here has a lot to do with it.

Quoting Aesma (Reply 45):
In France sport is mandatory through high school, but is not as intense, only 2 times a week for 1,5 hours.

That is a much better way of battling obesity.

falstaff · Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:11 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 30):
The simple solution for this is for a team to adopt him as an honorary member and give him a letter. If this had happened when I was captain of the swim team, it's what I would have done.

That would be the best thing to do. The school where I teach had a developmentally disabled boy who was really into basketball several years ago. He technically on the team, but saw little time on the court. He did make a crazy three point shot once and the crowd went wild and he had his photo in the newspaper. He graduated five years ago and he is now one of our basketball coaches.

We have had many other similar students involved sports in some way.

I do not like the idea of his mother buying the letter, because a decent school should be able to find a way for him to participate... Being a varsity athlete doesn't make a student "normal" or better than anyone else (a fair amount of kids don't like athletes) . Lots of students graduate from school without playing any sport or having any big academic achievement. Any kid could go out and buy a letter jacket and letter to make themselves "feel normal" and I am sure it's been done, but it is in bad taste. You have to do something to earn a letter, you just aren't given one. There are LOTS of ways for schools to include disabled students in sports. We have had Downs kids on the football team, our hockey team skates with the blind and we have had a cheerleader in a wheelchair. The students rally around those kids and think of them as very inspiring.

I have worked with many special needs students over the last fifteen years and I can tell you that everyone I ever worked with didn't like being given something, they like to earn it. The special needs athletes I have seen over the years have the best school spirit and are one of the most popular kids on the team. If you want your kid shunned? Buy the letter. Want the kid accepted? get him on the team.

Stabilator · Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:17 am

Without looking through the whole thread: Holy shit this is dumb. It's High School. It means nothing. I played multiple varsity sports, got a letter jacket, and just never put the "letters" on. Its been sitting in my closet for 6 years. Worn it maybe three times at school functions. I never really liked the kids who wore theirs like skin. I feel bad for the kid in the story. Humanity can be so petty.

diverted · Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:08 am

Quoting Stabilator (Reply 48):
Without looking through the whole thread: Holy shit this is dumb. It's High School. It means nothing. I played multiple varsity sports, got a letter jacket, and just never put the "letters" on. Its been sitting in my closet for 6 years. Worn it maybe three times at school functions. I never really liked the kids who wore theirs like skin. I feel bad for the kid in the story. Humanity can be so petty.

Easiest out? Toss the kid a jersey and let him ride the bench for a game, or even let him waterboy for a game, month, season whatever.

One could also say university degrees are earned not given, but there's tons of "honorary" ones thrown around.

Give the poor kid a break.

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