“Sports are a big thing here,” says Jenny, a student who moved to America from South Korea. (Ripley, Amanda. “The Case Against School Sports.” The Atlantic. November 4, 2013. ) Well, that's for sure! American high school academic scores are lower than they have ever been before, but instead of worrying about that, they sit around worrying about which team will win the next big game. There are all kinds of different sports in schools across all nations. about the country. Basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, football, tennis, etc. In all of these sports, in their own way, players receive special treatment. For example, Jenny says that in high school there are days when teams dress up in Hawaiian outfits or pajamas just because they're on the soccer team! (Ripley, Amanda. “The Case Against School Sports.” The Atlantic. November 4, 2013.) In Unicoi County schools, students who play a sport also get special privileges, whether it's getting away with code violations clothing, early school leaving, academics or other. Teachers are more lenient with athletes, and that's not fair! There is also a policy in the student handbook that states that, if you miss a day of school and do not have a legitimate excuse, you will not get the job for that day and will receive a zero. Although it is firmly enforced, some teachers give an absent athlete an extra grade or change a failing grade to a positive, so that the zero does not affect the grade. That's why they don't care because they don't have to. Especially if they are good at sports! While there are many students who work a job almost every day and have to work themselves to death just to get a B average. Teachers will give an athlete that extra point for a passing grade just so he can… half the paper…. official. They could take the thousands and thousands of dollars they've invested in team uniforms and buses and referees and coaches and food and all the other extra things they pay for and build Love Chapel a new school, afford better lunches, give teachers raises, have cleaner facilities and better educated students with higher test scores and fewer sports injuries. Some of our athletes suffer injuries that will affect them for the rest of their lives. There have even been cases of high school athletes having heart attacks on the field and dying. How beneficial is it? We need to stop it before it happens here. How would a parent feel if their child died on the field just because they were pushed so hard by the coach to work harder? I repeat, you need to stop it now! Works Cited Ripley, Amanda. “The case against high school sports. The Atlantic. November 4 2013.