Equal treatment for all people

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Player-with-Down-Syndrome-kicked-off-team-by-rig?urn=highschool-wp4452

Wasn't really sure which blog to put this one in but finally settled on my "wisdom" column. The above article is one of those that, at first glance, will peeve you off. A young man with Downs Syndrome is being kicked off his football team and the whole town is railing against how unfair this is and how the young man should be allowed to keep playing. I mean, you have heard this sort of story a hundred times in the past. Evil (insert group name here) kicks some kid with (Insert special needs name here) off team/group/club just because he/she is different.

This case is different. The young man is not being tossed because he has DS or that special efforts have to be made for him to play. He isn't being removed from his team because of any special expenses incurred because of his activity. He is being removed from "actively" playing because he is too old. He is being removed under a rule that applies to everyone that plays high school sports. Simply put, at age 19, he is too old to play on the team.

Keep in mind, hidden under all the uproar, is the fact that the young man can still be with his team, wear the jersey and do most of the things that he was doing before that brought him such joy. (Lead the team on the field, cheer from the sidelines etc.) The only things he is not allowed to do is dress out completely and actually run the ball.

Now I have friends who have Downs Syndrome (One very dear one who I hope will not take this column the wrong way) and I have seen the struggles they go through to simply have their children be treated with the same dignity and respect as other kids. I have seen how hard they have fought to allow their kids to be able to do all the things that the rest of the world takes for granted. I will stand beside them at any time to fight for those rights, but this isn't one of those cases.

The young man has played on his team for quite sometime. He has had all the same privileges and rights as every other member of his team. He has earned the respect and adoration of his friends, teammates and fellow citizens. He has stood as a shining example of how "different" doesn't mean "bad." One of his fellow players even admits that he has become a better player because of him watching and cheering from the sidelines. In short he has had a high school sports career that most kids would envy.

Now, like all kids do, he has grown up. He has become a young man about to make his first steps into a very large world. The rule that prevents him from playing is not a rule aimed at Special Needs people. It isn't singling him out because he has Downs Syndrome. It is a fair rule that applies to all athletes playing. If one of his teammates turned 19 he'd be required to stop playing as well. Basically, this young man is being treated just like everyone else.

Equal rights and fair treatment for everyone means exactly that. With some very specific limitations, the same rules and laws should apply to everyone. People that object to this ruling claim that an exception should be made because the young man has DS. They say that he won't be able to comprehend why he is being removed from the team and it will shatter him. Well, I say that these people are doing the young man and all people like him a great disservice. Don't make exceptions where people are being treated the same. We have way to many other fights out there that actually need to be fought.