After controversy over a youth soccer tournament disqualification attributed to a player’s mistaken gender, eight-year-old Mili Hernandez’ teammates made a public show of solidarity.
From AB: Youth Soccer Player Disqualified for Looking Like a Boy
On Thursday, the Azzurra Cachorros Chicas 11-and-under girls’ soccer team of Omaha, Neb., underwent a mass makeover, cutting their hair to match Mili’s signature look.
Springfield, Neb., Soccer Club Tournament director Lanyard Burgett has refuted widespread claims that the team was disqualified because officials thought she looked like a boy.
Burgett told espnW.com that three different teams were disqualified on Sunday for a myriad of reasons, among them using players on multiple teams.
Despite his objections, Azzurr Cachorros Chicas director Mo Farivari is convinced that the team’s only transgression was to have a female player with a nontraditional haircut.