A mother named Tiffany Store took to her Facebook to share an incident about her son, Gaven, a basketball player at Negaunee High School in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, who was kicked off the varsity team after missing two practices to go deer hunting with his family.
Tiffany explained that the trip had been planned long before the season started.
Gaven told Coach Billy Hill face-to-face two different times that he would be gone hunting, first right after tryouts, again on a Friday.
In fact, the family even followed up by text about it.
They thought everything was fine because no one ever said the absences would cost him his spot on the team.
Then, the week after the trip, the coach removed him anyway, saying varsity players have to be at every practice with no exceptions.
When the trouble started, they went higher up: they contacted the athletic director, Jake Skewis, and even sat down for a meeting with both the athletic director and the school superintendent.
Even with all of that, nothing changed, and Gaven stayed off the team.
She wrote that the whole thing felt unfair, especially since the school is small and the team is short on players. Tiffany wrote:
There were no verbal or written expectations of attendance before Gaven talked to coach Hill about being gone for hunting.
Tiffany Store
She also pointed out that Coach Hill himself posted that even a “family vacation” would not count as unexcused and could get a kid removed, which shocked a lot of parents.
People quickly jumped into the comments, and most were on the family’s side. Brandee Sandy wrote:
I still stand by my thoughts that family first. Didn’t matter what Gaven was doing. He had family trip planned and gave notice of such… a CHILD should never be put in the position to decide between a sport or his family.
Brandee Sandy
Likewise, another supporter named Jacqueline JackieNiemi said,
It’s really hard to watch a kid who lives for a sport get kicked off the team for taking two pre-planned days to go hunting with his family… Hunting with dad or grandpa during deer season? Those are the stories Gavin will still be telling when he’s 50. Two November practices nobody will remember in six months just ended his chance to play the game he loves.
Jacqueline JackieNiemi
Karen Rehn added, “Some of these coaches act like it’s the pros. I’m sorry but it’s youth sports. None of it is that serious… Childhood is short. Missing 2 days for something shouldn’t be an issue.”
That said, a few people backed the coach. Lexie JB commented:
Missing practices to go hunting?! Yeah, coach was in the right. Some of you are acting like this kid had some sort of family emergency.
Lexie JB
Others got upset that Tiffany was deleting comments she didn’t like. Jaime Holsworth pointed out, writing:
Why keep deleting comments that don’t fit your narrative? This was written by a Varsity player offering their own experience and perspective. When you start silencing the other side, you undercut your entire argument.
Jaime Holsworth
Jaime also shared a screenshot of the comment Tiffany deleted from Easton Guenette, which read:
Multiple players on this team gave up hunting time and work time, nobody is complaining, or quitting. We communicate and work around it, our coach is very flexible and easy to talk to.
Easton Guenette
Similarly, Jeff Rogers said, “If you’re gonna delete comments from kids, you might as well delete the original post. Very sad.”
By the next day, the story had spread all over town.
Someone even made a joke post saying Ted Nugent, a singer and spokesperson for Hunter Nation and an advocate for gun rights, hunting, and conservative causes, showed up to talk to school officials and get Gavin back on the team.
Parents are still talking about it, some saying the coach went too far, others saying rules are rules and kids have to learn commitment.
You May Read: Thibodaux Man and Neville vs. Ouachita Football Clock Operator, 68, Arrested for DWI After Improper Turn in Monroe!
