A Massachusetts high school girls’ field hockey team is refusing to play against a rival because the team has transgender players on its roster.
The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District released a statement Tuesday saying it was forfeiting the girls’ field hockey game against Somerset Berkley Regional High School.
According to reports, the decision was made after coaches and team captains discussed the matter.
The forfeit comes after a state policy was put in place allowing players and/or coaches to opt out of any competitions against an opposing team that “includes a member of the opposite sex.”
“In accordance with School Committee Police JJIB – Interscholastic Athletics, whose updates were approved by the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee on June 25, 2024, the District has notified Somerset Berkley Regional High School that we will be forfeiting the Field Hockey contest scheduled for Sept. 17,” the statement said.
“Our Field Hockey coaches and captains made this decision, and we notified our opponent accordingly,” the statement continued. “The District supports this decision as there are times where we have to place a higher value on safety than on victory.
“We understand this forfeit will impact our chances for a league championship and possibly playoff eligibility, but we remain hopeful that other schools consider following suit to achieve safety and promote fair competition for female athletes.”
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School was involved in a controversy with transgender players last year.
During a girls’ field hockey game against Swampscott High School, a player on Dighton-Rehoboth suffered “significant facial and dental injuries” that “required hospitalization” after being hit in the face by a shot from a transgender player.
The incident led to team captain Kelsey Bain writing a letter to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) calling on the organization to change its policy on transgender athletes.
“There is likely more interest, but the stigma of boys playing on a girls’ team is probably a deterrent,” Bain wrote after previously stating that MIAA “needs to do better.”
“I am sure school districts can institute co-op teams to create further opportunities for males to play in their own division, which I assume you are already aware of because, under rule 34 of the MIAA handbook, there is a division for boys’ field hockey listed under the Fall Sports category.
“You have a chance to change the negative publicity the MIAA has been receiving due to the incident that happened on Thursday night by moving forward with the proposal for a seven versus seven boys league.”
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