Standing Against Sexism

“I played soccer my whole life. Never once was I sexualized by an opponent,” states Hartford girls soccer coach, Jeff Acker, on USA TODAY Sports.

Several weeks ago, according to VTDigger, the Hartford girls soccer team warmed up like they usually did before every game, unprepared for the impact of the game they were shortly going to play. The Hurricanes fought a hard battle against the Fair Haven Slaters, and were behind 0-2 at the end of the first half.

The tension in the stands quickly changed after the Slaters scored their third goal. Shortly after, players on the Hartford varsity girls soccer team were met with ridicule from the Fairhaven student section.

“[We’ve] played games where you’re getting yelled at a little bit, and that’s kind of to be expected. You can block it out to some degree. But this was just a different level of stuff, to put it simply,” senior defender and team captain Katie Blood said in an interview with VTDigger, on October 14.

VTDigger reports, with 6 minutes on the clock, the Hurricanes were fed up. In a movement rarely seen in high school soccer, the Hurricanes walked off the field. The unexpected movement left onlookers confused. The underlying reason for the walk off was later disclosed to be due to sexual harassment from the student section. After reviewing game footage, it was confirmed that the Fair Haven students were singling out Hartford players by name and number and taunting individual players with profanity and sexualized comments.

The event quickly gained traction on Instagram. Shortly after the details of the situation were released, messages of reassurance and empathy flooded the Hartford Instagram page. A community of individuals spanning across the country shared their experiences with sexual harassment while playing sports. The bitter-sweet movement sparked essential conversations on the disparity between women and men’s sports.

Multiple schools showed support for the Hartford soccer team. In recent games, the Woodstock soccer team stood alongside Hartford by making an announcement addressing the issue during their game against Otter Valley on September 8th. The statement said, “We want to recognize the incident that happened with Hartford Girls Soccer, and state that Woodstock Union Highschool advocates for good sportsmanship and respect on and off the soccer field. Our girls soccer program does not support harassment”.

Other schools like Windsor and Springfield also participated in similar actions in support of the Hartford team.

“It is a huge issue and I'm glad our team took part in standing against harassment and in support of sportsmanship,” states Emma Tarleton, goalie and captain of the Woodstock varsity soccer team.

“This is only the beginning. When the girls walked off that night, they had no idea the ripple effect it would have,” declares the Hartford sports Instagram page.

A storm is brewing for change. While the Hurricanes started the movement, other schools are joining the battle to end sexism in high school sports.