Eight-year-old Mili Hernandez really likes soccer, and she also really likes her short haircut. Mili's pretty good, playing with 11-year-olds despite only being 8. Fair. Right. Simple enough.
Except maybe not. Mili's soccer team, Omaha's Azzuri Cachorros, made it to the finals of the Springfield Soccer Club girls tournament last weekend. However, before the team had a chance to take the field on Sunday, they were disqualified.
Why? Because tournament organizers thought that Mili was a boy.
She's 8 and plays U11. Only she's got short hair, so Mili Hernandez and her team got DQ'd from tournament. https://t.co/jzgotk5hD3
— Frank MacDonald (@frankmSounders) June 5, 2017
Mili told WOWT 6 News: "When my hair starts to grow I put it short because I've always had short hair. I didn't like my hair long," Mili told WOWT.
The 8-year-old also lamented the fact that her whole team was disqualified.
"Just because I look like a boy doesn't mean I am a boy. They don't have a reason to kick the whole club out."
Mili's family says they showed care insurance to the organizers to prove to them that Mili was, in fact, a girl (despite the length of her hair), but to no avail.
Officials said that it was the tournament president's decision and that it was final. If Mili's family wanted to appeal the disqualification, they could get in touch with the Nebraska State Soccer Association.
