The controversy in women’s volleyball leads to a call to temper regulations in sports leagues

The controversy that has generated the determination of the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (FPV) of not allowing the team of the Sanjuaneras of the Capital the replacement of one of its players with a pregnancy of high risk leaves in the open the complex of certain controversies in the sport sphere.

While there are voices that state that these issues must be resolved in sports organizations and reaffirm the contractual force of the regulations governing the leagues and the behaviors of their participants, there are those who argue that determinations such as the FPV decision reflect the ‘”absence of a gender perspective” and confirm the need to “adapt the rules to the reality of women’s bodies.”

“We need to look at this, we need to look at discriminatory practices in sport … This is a symptom of a greater evil, of how patriarchy is becoming an impediment for women to reach all the spaces to which they have rights,” to support the graduate and professor of the School of Law of the Inter-American University, Yanira Reis.

“It is sad that the volleyball league has not been able to be sensitive to this issue and penalized not only this athlete but the entire team,” said Reis, adding that the decision reflects the ignorance of the women’s body. and the needs of women. “They are masculine rules, made by men and interpreted by men,” he stated.

Sunday, in addition to suspending for one year the players of the Sanjuaneras of the Capital of all competition of the League of Feminine Superior Volleyball by a year, the FPV to declare to the equipment of the Creoles of Caguas like the combined champion of this season after the absence of the team of Sant Joan in the first two games.

Marc M. Martínez, representative of the Sanjuaneras, had decided not to play in this final until the courts made a decision on a lawsuit that he submitted on Saturday to the Court of First Instance of San Juan for the league leaders to approve the replacement of the Destinee Hooker-Washington reinforcement for the final series.

Hooker-Washington split from the team to have a high-risk pregnancy. However, the league did not allow the team to replace him, as the regulations only allow for a change of reinforcements due to injury during the postseason.

“There are definitely a lot of old regulations and decisions, because in the world of sports they are carried away by internal rules that are often out of date and are interpreted by the same people who have control of the teams, federations and leagues. that they don’t have an awareness of how the rules should be adapted to the reality of women’s bodies, ”Reyes said.

Country courts should be avoided

For the law professor of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Guillermo Figueroa Prieto, sports disputes -as was the case- must be resolved and resolved in the available internal forums, such as the FVP and the Court of Appeal and Arbitration for Sport (TAAD) of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee. The two entities ratified the decision of the director of the tournament, Josep “Picky” Servera, who denied the replacement covered by the regulations.

“The first thing is to examine what the regulations say and then in the light of what the regulations say the facts are examined, the facts are applied and the right decision is made. From a sporting point of view I have always criticized that the championships are settled off the pitch and that’s why for me the St. John’s team should have participated, ”he argued.

Figueroa Prieto, who for 16 years was a legal adviser to the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee and organized the TAAD, also did not favor the possibility of the tournament being stopped in which the matter is settled in court. “Stopping a tournament is crazy and affects everyone … while I was on the Olympic Committee this kind of legal controversy was litigated in the sports court without the intervention of the country courts,” he said.

The licensee reaffirmed that the team had to appear on the court on Sunday even though they were against the determination. The same thing happens, he said, when he disagrees with an arbitration decision on the court. “Yes, games can be protested, but if a loser goes to the appellate body and if he issues a decision he has to accept it because these regulations have contractual force between the participants,” he noted.

Graduate Esther Vicente, a professor and human rights activist, argued that not recognizing a high-risk pregnancy as a condition that allows the player to change implies a lack of a gender perspective and equality on the part of women. people who made the decision.

“Regulations always contain broad provisions in which support could have been given to address the situation. If the situation is new, they should make an assessment of their rules, because there is a matter of equal treatment,” he pointed out. in arguing that it “feels good” for the regulation to be questioned at the level of the country courts.