At a Mock Trial competition Jan. 30, a volunteer judge named Jonathan Sales made a series of allegedly sexist comments towards WHS’s all-female team. These comments caused alarm within the team and have sparked an investigation into the judge’s behavior by the Massachusetts Bar Association.

“[Mock Trial] is a pretty safe place,” Mock Trial captain and senior Trisha Raj said. “So for someone to come in and transform that into something ugly and demeaning, it was not a fun place to be.”

The reported comments took place after the trial was over, during the scoring portion of the competition. In this meet, Wayland competed against Xaverian Brothers High School, an all-male team.

WHS’s team compiled a non-exhaustive list of what Sales allegedly said to them during their critique.

● “Because your team is female, you have the ability to seduce the court and sway their emotions.”
● “You guys are dressed very nicely and appropriately, so I can respect you.”
● “As a team of girls, you guys dressed very professionally to not give in to prejudices
against you.”
● “You were too competitive and too aggressive.”
● “You are too competitive, and you should pretend like you aren’t.”
● “You need to act more confused and helpless, like you need the court’s help, and you
don’t know what’s going on.”
● “In court, when I used to practice criminal law, I used to split up and seat my defense
team in 50% girls and 50% boys in the hopes that they would fight over stupid gender
stuff.”

The team claims that Sales requested that Mock Trial Coach Howard Lenow leave the room while he gave comments, so Lenow didn’t hear these statements directly.

“Normally when a team loses the judge usually talks to them and the coach is there too, but [Sales] specifically asked that the coach wasn’t there,” Mock Trial participant and senior Sarah Foley said.

After learning what was said, Lenow felt that this judge’s comments were inappropriate.

“When the girls told me this, I was properly shocked and angered, because those comments are wholly inappropriate to say to high school girls,” Lenow said. “Just totally inappropriate and demeaning and dehumanizing.”

Lenow and the team both wrote letters to the Massachusetts Bar Association, the organization that manages the Massachusetts High School Mock Trial Program, in response to the event. In these letters, they called for Sales’s removal as a Mock Trial judge.

“We made it clear that we weren’t appealing the score of the trial, but instead we were focusing on his comments and what he said to us,” Raj said. “Based on that, he should not be allowed to judge another team again.”

In the team’s letter, they describe the mental and emotional consequences that these comments had on them.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Sales’ reprehensible comments have deeply affected our morale,” the team wrote. “That a judge, someone we view as an authority figure, talked to us in such a belittling manner has stripped away much of the self-confidence that our team and coach have worked so hard to build.”

Lenow’s letter similarly focuses on the implications of Sales’s comments and demands his immediate removal.

“For the sake of my team, I will not stand by and allow Mr. Sales’ conduct to go unnoticed or unpunished nor will I accept any outcome other than Mr. Sales’ expulsion from the Mock Trial program,” Lenow wrote. “Our students, and particularly the girls in our program, must feel safe, supported, and protected from the venal prejudice exhibited by Mr. Sales.”

The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) has confirmed that they officially received this complaint, but no action has been taken as of publication.

“The MBA is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all participants in the MBA’s High School Mock Trial Program,” the MBA’s Director of Media and Communications Jason Scally said. “Mock Trial is investigating this incident and no determination has been made regarding the complaint.”

Wayland’s Mock Trial team won the preseason Garden City tournament. as well as their first trial of the season and their most recent trial on Monday, Feb. 6. However, since they lost this one trial out of the three in their region, their season is now over.

“It was bittersweet because that was my last trial,” Foley said. “It’s really unfair.”

It remains unclear whether the MBA will fulfill the Wayland team’s requests, but the team remains hopeful that justice will be served.

“We don’t know what the outcome will be, but hopefully it will be something good, so that will affect future generations of Mock Trial kids,” Raj said.

Jonathan Sales did not immediately respond for comment.