Have you ever heard the saying that stereotypes exist because there is often some truth to them? For a long time I didn’t see why there were so many lawyer jokes. All the lawyers I knew were pretty good people.

This week, I’m starting to see more and more why lawyer jokes are so prevalent. There’s at least one in Clark County who's giving his counterparts in the legal profession a bad name.

The parent of a Green Valley High School student, who is also an assistant U.S. Attorney in southern Nevada, is playing the litigation card, in all likelihood so his daughter doesn’t have to choose between soccer and volleyball. Never mind what’s best for all girls across the Silver State.

Three years ago, the NIAA agreed to move the 4A girls soccer season in Clark County from the winter to the fall, coinciding with the girls large school season in northern Nevada. The move was made so Nevada’s governing body for high school athletics could unify the two seasons and hold one state tournament.

It was a good move. Nevada had been the only state in the nation to hold two state tournaments, thus not giving its 4A girls soccer players the right to compete for a true state championship. That in itself may have been a Title IX violation. That fear certainly pushed NIAA leaders to make the change they did.

The NIAA is now gearing up for a lawsuit from this Las Vegas-area lawyer, who wrote in a letter, “We anticipate moving forward with a preliminary injunction motion against the NIAA, should it take the misguided action of refusing to sanction girls soccer (in the winter).”

That’s exactly what the NIAA did Wednesday and it should be commended. Clark County School District officials told the NIAA they planned to keep their girls soccer season in the winter while they studied Title IX ramifications. The NIAA pretty much said that’s fine and dandy, but if you do, you’ll be playing a glorified intramural league because we won’t be recognizing your season.

The CCSD is in a bit of a pinch. If it were to move its season to the fall, a potential lawsuit will claim the district is in violation of Title IX, which says males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all arenas of public schooling, including athletics. CCSD may not be in violation with the soccer issue, but it does offer one more sport to boys than it does girls. District leaders know if Title IX hunters come in to explore the soccer issue, it will become a full-on safari where everything is open to critique.

So, basically, because CCSD does not have its ducks in a row, it buckled to the threat of a lawsuit. And now, because of CCSD’s poor planning and organization, the NIAA will likely get sued.

It’s kind of a bush league move by the CCSD. It can duck and cover for the time being and let the NIAA take the shot instead of taking responsibility. However, I wholeheartedly believe the CCSD’s reprieve is temporary. If leaders in the south think they can avoid being dragged into this lawsuit, they are sorely mistaken.

The NIAA believes Title IX experts will say the state body was in the right, unifying its girls soccer seasons. Of course, if this thing ever gets into court, they’ll need a judge to agree. They need to get a judge to see this potential suit for what it is: a bunch of paperwork mocked up by an overzealous dad who knows how to manipulate the legal system and is trying to protect his baby girl from having to choose between volleyball and soccer — two fall sports.

Oh, the horror...

The NIAA has gone to court in the past for trying to defend some bad policy. Now it has done the right thing and is still being forced into court.

Here’s the sad part of this whole situation. Because one dad is making a stink, there are roughly 1,000 girls in Clark County who don’t get to play in the warmer fall weather like the boys. Let’s see this dad run around in a t-shirt and shorts on windy, cold afternoons from mid-November to mid-February and see how he likes it.

Actually, that's probably a bad visual. I don't want to see that.

Statewide, there are about 750 varsity-level girls who don’t get the chance to compete for a true state championship. This hits home in the Rail City where Reed is the two-time defending ‘North State’ champion and Spanish Springs looks to be a playoff contender. You can bet the young ladies who suit up on the Sparks soccer fields would like the opportunity to play southern Nevada rivals in state tournament action.

On Wedneday, I heard a revelation from CCSD Director of Athletics Ray Mathis that I bet not many southern Nevada coaches of any sport have heard yet. Because the district already offers an extra boys sport, it will likely need to add a girls sport at some point.

That’s a big problem because CCSD won’t be adding any extra funding for the implementation of a new sport. That means monies will have to be taken from all other sports — smaller budgets for football, basketball, baseball and the rest. Mathis said programs, in all sports, may be limited to just league games.

Do the football coaches at Las Vegas prep powers know in the not-too-distant future they may only play six or seven games instead of 10? Could perennial powerhouse Centennial girls basketball only get 12 games instead of 26?

This girls soccer issue is opening up a can of worms and it’s going to get ugly. It’s too bad one selfish parent has the ability to cause such damage and pain.



Dan Eckles is the Sparks Tribune’s sports editor. He can be reached via email at

deckles@dailysparkstribune.com