The New York Times and a Nebraska local news network let their love for a good victim story get the better of them this week when they artfully—and intentionally—sacrificed an 8-year-old girl who loves soccer and happens to wear her hair short.
Due to an unfortunate error on a team roster form which marked young Mili Hernandez incorrectly as a male, the team was disqualified from the Ray Heimes Springfield Invitational in Nebraska.
An unfortunate error of course, but according to the Nebraska State Soccer Association the roster submitted to the state by the Omaha’s Azzuri Cachorros girls club team “identified this player as male, and the competition rules for US Youth Soccer do not allow boys to play on a girls’ team.”
In fact, the New York Times knew well that Mili was mistakenly “listed as a male on the team roster for the regular season and the tournament. Officials said it was a typo but still a rule violation.”
But that didn’t stop America’s Paper of Record to push a story that appeared as though Mili was being discriminated against because she looked boyish by wearing her hair short. Here was their headline on Tuesday: ‘They Thought I Was a Boy’: Short-Haired Girl Barred From Soccer Tournament.
The headline even ginned up some sympathy from American retired women soccer player and two-time Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach:
Soccer star Mia Hamm chimed in to support Mili as well:
Springfield Nebraska news station WOWT was just as bad as “The Gray Lady” in trying to induce victimhood for the athletic 8-year-old. Here was their headline: 8-year-old girl disqualified from soccer game; she ‘looks like a boy’
The facts of the case apparently were just too boring for the Times and WOWT to endure. Roster Filled Out Incorrectly Prohibits Team from Advancing to Finals just doesn’t have that glorious victimhood ring to it that we all know the mainstream media thrives on.
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