...point of exhaustion? Are there any laws in place to protect minors suffering from exhaustion when playing competitive sports?
My 14 year old niece plays on a travel softball team and they played in a tournament where they played 3 games spanning from 3pm to 10 pm on Sat. then 4 games the next day from 7 am to 5pm Sunday. It was 100 degrees and the girls were completely exhausted by the time they were done and the adults seemed oblivious to their condition. I was thinking how they could have been suffering from lack of sleep, dehydration, even heat exhaustion and it could have gone unnoticed or unchecked because the adults were only focused on winning games. Many of these girls are forced to play and treated like commodities instead of human beings to feed the egos of parents and coaches. I know there are child labor laws to protect minors from being exploited in the work force but what about when they're exploited in athleics? Are there any laws to protect them from physical and mental harm when they are forced to push themselves to the point of exhaustion and injury or possible death?
My 14 year old niece plays on a travel softball team and they played in a tournament where they played 3 games spanning from 3pm to 10 pm on Sat. then 4 games the next day from 7 am to 5pm Sunday. It was 100 degrees and the girls were completely exhausted by the time they were done and the adults seemed oblivious to their condition. I was thinking how they could have been suffering from lack of sleep, dehydration, even heat exhaustion and it could have gone unnoticed or unchecked because the adults were only focused on winning games. Many of these girls are forced to play and treated like commodities instead of human beings to feed the egos of parents and coaches. I know there are child labor laws to protect minors from being exploited in the work force but what about when they're exploited in athleics? Are there any laws to protect them from physical and mental harm when they are forced to push themselves to the point of exhaustion and injury or possible death?