Recently, Roni Fw-Davis shared on Facebook that her daughter, Shay, faced relentless bullying on the volleyball court.
Bullying in youth sports had long been a devastating reality for many families, and one mother’s emotional post got attention in South Dakota.
Roni shared a Facebook post that her daughter faced bullying on the volleyball court, to the point that she was considering transferring her to another school for a fresh start.
For Shay, volleyball was supposed to be an opportunity to explore her interests and build confidence.
Instead, her first year became an experience marked by verbal abuse and cruel remarks from her teammates.
As per Roni, her daughter lived with a specific eye condition that often made it difficult for her to play at the same level as her peers.
Surgery was a possibility in the future, but until then, she had to navigate the challenges of limited eyesight.
Rather than compassion and support, she was met with derogatory names and ridicule, not only because of her condition but also for her body size.
Roni’s frustration deepened when coaches failed to intervene. She wrote, “Coaches didn’t do anything.”
Despite bullying, Roni admired her daughter’s resilience. Shay shifted her focus toward basketball, dancing, and hand games, where she found more joy and confidence.
Roni herself had grown up in a family that valued sports, and she had hoped volleyball could provide the same sense of belonging and accomplishment for her daughter.
“I prayed one day my baby girl would find her passion for it,” she wrote, while clarifying that she would never pressure Shay to return to a sport she no longer enjoyed.
Roni admitted she often felt the urge to confront her daughter’s bullies against their families, but chose not to act on those impulses.
Instead, she focused on equipping Shay with the tools to stand up for herself. “Verbal abuse is real among bullying. I had been teaching Shay to fight back,” she explained.
Looking ahead, Roni weighed the option of transferring Shay to a different school. Two possibilities were Red Cloud and Oelrichs.
At Red Cloud, Shay would have had the comfort of being surrounded by family, including her aunt, big sister, and younger aunts, who had already attended.
Oelrichs, on the other hand, had a positive reputation at the middle school level, although it lacked a Lakota program and required a longer commute from home.
Roni also shared that she hoped to enter an internship with the Lakota Staff, which would allow her to remain closely involved in her daughter’s education and safety.
Social media users quickly responded to her post. One commenter, Mousseau Oshie, a graduate of Oglala Lakota College, warned that Oelrichs had its own issues with bullying.
Oelrichs is the same way! Bullying 3x worse! My sister was bullied since her sophomore year Principal didn’t care because she got along with the parents child who was bulling my sister! Thankfully she hung in there and finished High School! If my sister can do it so can your babygirl lmk! I’ll watch over her! I dislike bullies
Mousseau Oshie
Roni’s Facebook post highlighted larger issues in youth athletics, from the failure of coaches and administrators to address bullying.
