Document text
Email Story to a Friend July 15, 2006 Shoe donation stirs up controversy at South By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune The foot of the problem, Mary Salisbury says, is about gaining equality. And that's why Salisbury, the mother of a South Medford High girls basketball player, continues to insist that if Nike gives athletic shoes — valued at as much as $150 — to the Panther boys program, then it should present an equal amount to the Panther girls team. Nike, the Beaverton-based apparel and shoe giant, has been handing shoes and other athletic gear to the South Medford boys team since the rise of Kyle Singler, the team's star player who is regarded as one of the nation's top recruits. The arrangement is due to end in two years following the departure of Singler and fellow Division I recruit Michael Harthun, says Dennis Murphy, the school's athletic director and boys basketball coach. Similar deals involving schools and corporations have come under scrutiny around the nation as experts ponder the implications of corporate donations made by shoe companies such as Nike, Reebok and adidas. Advertisement Soft drink companies such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola have also gotten into the act, placing their brand names in schools via vending machines, cafeterias and scoreboard sponsorships. While Salisbury doesn't know much about the latter dealings, she's become well-versed on what she calls the "gangster" shoe companies and isn't pleased with what she's found. "What it is is, it's a money issue," says Salisbury, whose daughter, Emily, was a sophomore on the South Medford girls basketball team last year. "(The shoe companies) really couldn't care less about anything else. They just want the money out of the boy (Singler), they just want him to be loyal to their shoe company." To wit, Salisbury denounces the donations by Nike and contends the girls basketball team should also be compensated by the Oregon-based shoe company or the school in accordance with Title IX, the 1972 federal law to end sex discrimination in publicly funded schools. "It's about providing the girls a feeling of value," says Salisbury, adding that she'd also like to see the school band play at more girls games and have the sale of school paraphernalia be included at girls games. "If someone just showed them a small increment of respect and said, 'We're getting all this free stuff and don't need it because it's kind of obscene the number of shoes we have and bags we have, and it's not going to hurt us to show a spark of generosity for you to help build your program up and feel better about yourself.'" Murphy considers the complaint to be over the top as it relates to the school's Title IX compliance. "I know that every kid in any athletic venue in South Medford that wants to play sports can do that," he says. "The girls budget is the same as the boys; even the girls basketball coach makes the same as me, and I've been doing this for 34 years, and she's been here for one." "I struggle with the whole thing," he adds. "There's never been a girl who has come walking into my office to tell me we don't feel like we're equal because of what the girls get and the boys get." Salisbury remains unsatisfied. In the past, she has delivered letters to Murphy and South Medford Principal Kevin Campbell, urging them to dole out the Nike gear to the girls as well as the boys. Upon facing polite but firm opposition, Salisbury contacted the Oregonian for an article that was published on June 12. The story was picked up by an online newspaper, The NewStandard, on June 26. The headlines continued in the past week, when the Indianapolis Star ran its version of the story July 9, soon after Singler had been there for a Nike all-star camp. While Salisbury says she has received positive feedback from a few e-mails sent to her by the Oregonian reporter she keeps in touch with, Murphy says the subject hasn't come up since the original article was published. "I've not had another parent in our school district contact me and say we need to look into this," he says. "It's not like the girls get nothing and we get a lot. We happen to get some shoes." Similar scenarios exist at a handful of other high schools in Oregon and approximately 300 nationwide. Nike sponsors the girls basketball teams at Oregon City and Southridge high schools, which are each considered among the state's best each year, as well as the boys teams at Benson, Jefferson, Beaverton, Westview and Lake Oswego, which features the potential No. 1 recruit in the nation in Kevin Love. Salisbury says she's contacted all but Southridge in that group, and only Oregon City and South Medford do not practice some sort of sharing with the opposite gender when it comes to the donations. "Most everyone, except for someone really old-school or old-fashioned like Dennis, agrees as a company, Nike should be doing this," Salisbury says of equitable distribution of donated goods. "But mostly, as school district employees, they should be making sure that everything is done the right way. There are laws in the book. If you read Title IX, it says very clearly that any incoming money from a booster or any source is federally required to be distributed equitably." Murphy believes that if he asked Nike to also provide shoes for the South Medford girls team that both squads might get little or nothing. "And all this over a pair of shoes that if you can't afford to buy, we'll buy them for you anyway (using athletic department reserves)," Murphy says. "If our girls were where we are and we're on the other side, I wouldn't be asking for the same thing. And our girls coach isn't asking for it now." So far the requests primarily have come from Salisbury, whose other daughter, Colleen, recently capped her career as a two-time national champion with the University of Portland women's soccer team — also sponsored by Nike. Her son, Kevin, was a soccer and baseball player at South, and Salisbury very clearly states that she has "no desire to ever do anything legal about it because that's just not who I am." "When school starts up again, I'll probably send another letter to Dennis (Murphy) and Kevin (Campbell) and ask how they felt about the articles and ask if they've contacted Nike," Salisbury says. "I can't change what Nike does to Kyle; it's almost like a gangster element when you think about it. What I can change is basic respect at the local level. I can try to make sure, as I've done quite courageously, I should say, that people should at least think about this." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Ashley Furniture HomeStore Advertisement s