[Raiderforlife]

I have no problem with a parent holding their kid back for whatever reason. It is ultimately the parents decision. What will be interesting is since we are looking at not allowing kids to play sports during a holdback year, what will happen when other kids are allowed to holdback and still participate as a member of the academic team, band, etc. We all know that lawyers are going to enter the mix at some point.

I have to tell you that the idea that a parent would hold a child back purely for athletic reasons is disturbing and borders on being negligent to the point of removing a child from that family. Some simple facts. Last year at Ryle high schoollstudents earned over 8 million dollars in academic scholarships while the athletes were awarded under $300,000. Less than 1% of all high school athletes will receive a single dime for athletics. Students who have failed a grade receive even less. Those stats are consistent across. Public education. The numbers do change when you look at private schools.

State statistics show that student who were held back be it for academic or social reasons perform 50 % below their same age peers and attend secondary institutions at 1/6 the rate of their peers. Ultimately students who are held back especially after the 4 th grade are 7 times more likely to receive public assistance. A significant number of those students go on to suffer from low self esteem and social anxieties that lead them down a path of social isolation.

Having said that I see this phenomenon more often in poor underperforming communities where kids and parents are hopeless. i believe that parents that hold their children back with no regard for their educational well being are abusive and negligent. They may as well be Ray Rice.