--- title: Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm Respond to Springfield Soccer Player description: Organizers of the Springfield Soccer Club girls tournament in Omaha disqualified a girl's team because officials insisted that she was a boy canonical: https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-06T15:35:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:17:06.835Z article:section: Sports og:title: Girl Booted From Soccer Tournament Because Short Hair Looked 'Like a Boy' og:description: There was a silver lining, thanks to soccer legends Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach og:url: https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13fdbd7422e812f4/6988d05be76ad24ed262dc53/girls-soccer.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Girls soccer team training og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Girl Booted From Soccer Tournament Because Short Hair Looked 'Like a Boy' twitter:description: There was a silver lining, thanks to soccer legends Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13fdbd7422e812f4/6988d05be76ad24ed262dc53/girls-soccer.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Girl Booted From Soccer Tournament Because Her Short Hair Made Her 'Look Like a Boy' by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Jun 6, 2017 3:35 PM UTC  Girls soccer team (aged 12-13) training with their coach Girls soccer team (aged 12-13) training with their coachAlistair Berg—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Jun 6, 2017 3:35 PM UTC Eight-year-old Milagros “Mili” Hernandez looks like an 11-year-old when she glides past opponents on the [soccer field](http://motto.time.com/4731043/womens-soccer-equal-pay-dispute/). But to some, she merely looks like a boy due to her pixie haircut — which cost her team a spot in the finals of a Nebraska tournament last weekend. Organizers of the Springfield Soccer Club girls tournament in Omaha disqualified Mili and her team because officials insisted that she was a boy, [Nebraska NBC affiliate WOWT reported.](http://www.wowt.com/content/news/8-year-old-girl-disqualified-from-soccer-game-because-she-looks-like-a-boy-426397041.html) Someone had noticed her short hairstyle and complained that there was a male on the Azzurri Achurros, the team full of 11-year-olds that Mili plays for thanks to her advanced talent. Her father, Gerardo Hernandez, tried to dispute the claim. He grabbed Mili and her insurance card — which lists her gender — and headed to the tournament field to clear up the confusion. But the game’s officials weren’t hearing it. “They didn’t even want to take \[the card\],” Gerardo [told the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/06/05/a-girl-with-short-hair-was-kicked-out-of-a-soccer-tournament-because-she-looks-like-a-boy/?utm%5Fterm=.8057876db04b). “They told us the thing was decided.” An Azzurri club representative said the complaint gained traction because there was a typo on a registration form that listed Mili as a boy, according to the _Post_. But another form had her correct gender — and Mili had already been playing for the all-girl team for some time, so the disqualification came as a shock. Especially to Mili. She cried upon hearing the news, her family told WOWT. “Just because I look like a boy doesn’t mean I am a boy,” she said to the station. “They don’t have a reason to kick the whole club out.” Springfield Soccer Club organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But there was a silver lining, despite the ordeal: two of the biggest legends in the history of [U.S. women’s soccer](http://motto.time.com/4578379/us-women-soccer-equal-pay-fight-60-minutes/) heard of the story as it made national headlines, and they consoled Mili directly. [Mia Hamm](http://time.com/3319338/mia-hamm-soccer-fifa-sports-girls/), a two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion, [invited Mili to attend the Team First Soccer Academy](https://twitter.com/MiaHamm/status/871844872176541697), which Hamm co-founded and where she coaches. And [Abby Wambach](http://motto.time.com/4489999/abby-wambach-childhood-conservative-household/), another gold medalist and World Cup winner who holds the international record for goals scored by both women and men, offered some words of encouragement to the young athlete. “Mili, don’t EVER let anyone tell you that you aren’t perfect just as you are,” she [tweeted](https://twitter.com/AbbyWambach/status/871858352304791553). “I won championships with short hair.” She also took to Instagram to record a personal video message for Mili. “You’re a natural-born leader, honey,” Wambach said. “I’m so proud of you.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/"},"headline":"Girl Booted From Soccer Tournament Because Her Short Hair Made Her 'Look Like a Boy'","datePublished":"2017-06-06T15:35:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:17:06.835Z","description":"But a couple of soccer legends responded with a silver lining","url":"https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/","keywords":["Soccer","Abby Wambach","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13fdbd7422e812f4/6988d05be76ad24ed262dc53/girls-soccer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13fdbd7422e812f4/6988d05be76ad24ed262dc53/girls-soccer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Girls soccer team training","caption":"Girls soccer team training","creditText":"Alistair Berg—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4807145/mili-hernandez-soccer-omaha-nebraska-short-hair/","name":"Girl Booted From Soccer Tournament Because Her Short Hair Made Her 'Look Like a Boy'"}}]}] ```