SouthFlorida.com | Teen Link South Florida

When Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, was gathering his philosophical ideas for the U.S. Constitution, he stated, "equality for everyone, special privileges for none."

Even though history has managed to resolve its disregard for this theory with the 13th and 19th Amendments, which freed the slaves and allowed women to vote, today in 2008, it is still being overlooked.

However, this time it is not in the political arena, but on the somewhat smaller scale of high school athletics.

I, like other sports fans, enjoy attending major high school events such as football, basketball and baseball games, but I often miss out on the games that are not so popular.

Why is this? The student who plays golf or softball is no different from the star quarterback, as they both work tirelessly at improving their games and being the best they can be.

The volleyball players from both Western and Cypress Bay say they practice up to six days a week.

They, like the football players, need to maintain a passing GPA to stay on the team.

However, while the star quarterback is being watched by the entire school, a volleyball player is diving to the floor, scraping her knees, watched only by dedicated team moms.

The costs of uniforms also play a role in separating high school athletics. The basketball, football and baseball teams have customized uniforms made while other teams must resort to selecting one from a catalog.

For some, this may make no difference, but according to Jefferson, why should one class (major sports) receive any special privileges?

The only true way to solve this problem is to equally distribute all the athletic income to every sport, no matter the attendance or revenue.

Whichever sport one chooses, he or she should expect the same respect as the next.