Alabama city pushes back on claim that girls basketball team wasn't awarded trophy because of gender

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A city in Alabama is defending itself against criticism following a youth basketball tournament where the parents of a fifth-grade girls team claimed they were not awarded the first-place trophy after defeating a boys recreational team in the title game because they were girls.

Jayme Mashayekh, whose daughter plays in a competitive girls league representing Spain Park, wrote in a Facebook post last week that the team of all Hoover City School students was told during the middle of the season that they could no longer use Hoover facilities to practice in unless they paid to play in the district’s recreational league. 

The city said in a statement that in the same tournament, a boys "elite team" won a championship and was not awarded a trophy. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

"They were told to stay together as a team they had to play up a level in competition and play the 5th grade boys," Mashayekh said in the post. 

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She went on to say that before the championship, the team was told that they could participate but would not be awarded the trophy if they won.

"‘Excuse me? What?’ What did they do to get disqualified? Did they not pay their dues? Did they not play up a level in competition? Oh, it’s because they’re GIRLS?!?!" Mashayekh wrote.

"So sure enough these 5th grade girls played their hearts out, left it all on the floor and battled their male counterparts only to be told, "No, I’m sorry you don’t count."

Mashayekh called the situation a "hard lesson," one that she didn’t believe "we should be teaching our boys or girls in this