GIRL BEATS BOYS BUT IS DENIED TROPHY BECAUSE SHE IS A GIRL!

Lunenburg High School's Emily Nash tees off during the Central Massachusetts Division 3 boys' golf tournament at Blissful Meadows in Uxbridge, Mass.

GOLFWEEK
By BILL SPEROS
Outrage grows as high school golfer Emily Nash gets no relief from Massachusetts rules committee

Nash, who had the best score at a boys' golf tournament in Massachusetts, has been denied the trophy because she's a girl. The tournament director tells The Telegram & Gazette he made Nash aware of the rule before the tournament began. This claim has not been substantiated.

The story of Emily Nash, who won the Central Massachusetts Division 3 boys’ golf tournament but was denied a trophy because she was a girl, has gained serious traction in the golfing community..

Among the notables not happy with the decision:

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Brittany Lincicome ?@Brittany1golf
This is infuriating ????. If everyone plays the same tees it doesn’t matter if your a girl or boy. Lowest score wins ???? period https://twitter.com/jseubanks/status/923338194577428481 …
12:06 PM - Oct 26, 2017
38 38 Replies 25 25 Retweets 305 305 likes
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Curtis Strange ?@golf_strange
High school golfer not awarded first-place trophy -- because she's a girl via the @FoxNews App. 2017. Really ? http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2017/10/25/high-school-golfer-not-awarded-first-place-trophy-because-shes-girl.html …
5:41 PM - Oct 25, 2017

High school golfer not awarded first-place trophy -- because she's a girl
A Massachusetts high school golfer, who won a tournament by four shots, won’t go home with the first-place trophy -- because she’s a girl.
foxnews.com
25 25 Replies 32 32 Retweets 48 48 likes
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Annika Sorenstam ?@ANNIKA59
Unacceptable #emilywon https://twitter.com/golfchannel/status/923356041194168321 …
4:39 PM - Oct 26, 2017
15 15 Replies 46 46 Retweets 169 169 likes
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Steve Elkington ?@elkpga
There's no rule that I know of that stops low score winning...
That would be a local rule or a made up bullshit rule https://twitter.com/golf_strange/status/923227912857378816 …
1:16 AM - Oct 26, 2017 · Houston, TX
16 16 Replies 17 17 Retweets 61 61 likes

Thursday, two days after her victory, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) released the following statement reaffirming its rule that denied Nash her rightful prize:

The MIAA and its member schools congratulate all golfers on their performance at the recent fall sectional team golf tournament. In particular, the skill of the female golfer from Lunenburg was on display as she represented her personal ability and effort on behalf of the Lunenburg High School Boys Golf Team. The MIAA is proud to have her and her teammates participate and represent the 230,000+ student-athletes in our schools.

The MIAA Golf Committee, with a membership of school representatives from each district in the state, has worked over the years to establish and manage both a boys and girls golf tournament. In the case of golf, these tournaments exist in two different seasons. The boys team and individual tournament has taken place in the fall and the girls team and individual tournament has taken place in the spring. During a sectional tournament round of golf, a golfer’s score is submitted for both an individual and team competition at each location.

To offer an opportunity for team play to all MIAA member school students, female golfers have been welcomed to participate on a boys team in the fall if their school did not sponsor a girls golf team in the spring. Approximately 26 female golfers participated in 2017 fall boys golf tournaments. This opportunity has been met positively by many student-athletes and school programs. Given this team opportunity during the fall tournament season, it has been clear to participants that female golfers playing in the fall boys team tournament are not participating in an individual capacity. The individual tournament opportunity for female golfers takes place during the spring season. As stated in the official MIAA 2017 Fall Golf format, “Girls playing on a fall boys team cannot be entered in the boys fall individual tournament. They can only play in the boys team tournament. If qualified, they can play in the spring Girls Sectional and State Championships.”

We congratulate Lunenburg’s female golfer on her performance and wish her continued success as she participates once again in the MIAA Girls Individual Golf Tournament in the spring of 2018.

Well, that clears it up.

Not so much.

For one, her name is “Emily Nash” and not “Lunenburg’s female golfer.”

But this sort of thing is typical for the MIAA, which carries a notorious reputation in the Bay State for an lacking common sense on multiple occasions.

Nash shot a 75 and beat Nico Ciolino by 4 strokes. She played from the same tees. She did not receive a first-place trophy because of an MIAA rule prohibiting girls from entering the boys’ individual competition. Even worse, she will not be invited to the state championship next week.

The tournament director says Nash and her coach were aware of the rule ahead of time. Nash and her father say she was not.

Her school, Lunenburg High School, does not have a girls golf team in the fall and the Lunenburg ‘boys’ team did not make the state tournament. Ciolino, meanwhile, offered his trophy to Nash, but she declined.

She’s far too good for anything with the MIAA’s name on it.