The push to let boys who identify as girls play on girls’ teams is not only unfair to young girls, causing them to lose competitions and spots on teams that rightly belong to them, but it can also be very dangerous for the physically weaker females.
A high school field hockey game in Massachusetts has become the latest flashpoint for transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
During a match between Swampscott High School and Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School on Nov. 2, a Dighton-Rehoboth player was struck in the face by a ball raised by a male player. Video of the injury circulated online, prompting outrage from many people, according to Newsweek.
This happened at an all girls high school hockey game in Swampscott, Massachusetts. A male who identifies as a female joined the team and hit a girl in the face, reportedly knocking her teeth out. You can hear her shrieking in pain pic.twitter.com/bs3YGEIlLI
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 3, 2023
In the footage, a male Swampscott player hit the ball into the air for a shot on goal. The ball struck the female Dighton-Rehoboth player, who can be heard screaming.
Several prominent conservative figures shared the video on social media, expressing outrage over the incident.
Former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been vocal in her opposition to transgender athletes playing on women’s teams after she competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, tweeted, “It’s reported that male player (#2 for Swampscott) knocked the teeth out of female player. Males are allowed to play on female teams in MA because of the ‘equal play act.’ This is the town where NCAA president and past gov, Charlie baker lives. Care to comment, @CharlieBakerMA?”
It’s reported that male player (#2 for Swampscott) knocked the teeth out of female player. Males are allowed to play on female teams in MA because of the “equal play act”
This is the town where NCAA president and past gov, Charlie baker lives. Care to comment, @CharlieBakerMA ? pic.twitter.com/ahyGrzA2Ox
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) November 3, 2023
Chad Prather of Blaze TV wrote, “There should be hell to pay.”
A male player that says he’s a girl reportedly knocked out the teeth of a female player at an all-girl’s field hockey high school game in Swampscott, MA.
There should be hell to pay. pic.twitter.com/iBYfzbY1M3
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) November 3, 2023
“In our [Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)] Tournament field hockey game Thursday, a player on the visiting team suffered an unfortunate injury on a legal play after being struck by a shot that deflected off her teammate’s stick. We are sorry to see any player get hurt and wish the Dighton-Rehoboth player a speedy recovery,” Kelly Wolff, the Swampscott High School Athletic Director, told Newsweek.
“The Swampscott player who took the shot is a 4-year varsity player and co-captain who, per MIAA rules, has the exact same right to participate as any player on any team.”
The news outlet said it “could not verify that the athlete is a male who identifies as a female.”
The MIAA handbook allows boys to play on girl’s teams if that sport is not available for boys and vice versa.
A spokesperson for the MIAA told Newsweek that the law was originally enacted to protect students from discrimination based on sex, and later expanded to protect students based on gender identification.
The MIAA spokesperson told the news outlet that “We respect and understand the complexity and concerns that exist regarding student safety. However, student safety has not been a successful defense to excluding students of one gender from participating on teams of the opposite gender. The arguments generally fail due to the lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams.”
Amy E. Sousa, an activist who opposes transgender athletes in women’s sports, made some good points when she tweeted, “Sports are segregated by sex because women deserve physical fairness and safety in sports! Men who physically harm women on the field and steal women’s rightful accomplishments have been emboldened by federal and state policies that are outright abusive to women.”
“Policies that prioritize men’s identity claims over the physical safety of women are more than sexist, they constitute ABUSE,” Sousa continued.
“These abusive policies must be stopped. Stop making a mockery of our foremothers’ work to instill Title IX protections for women and girls on the basis of SEX,” Sousa wrote.
Sports are segregated by sex because women deserve physical fairness and safety in sports!
Men who physically harm women on the field and steal women’s rightful accomplishments have been emboldened by federal and state policies that are outright abusive to women.
Policies… https://t.co/kFL8uzXLqj
— Amy E. Sousa (@KnownHeretic) November 3, 2023
Some states are taking steps to protect women from being subject to having men on their teams, but the battle continues.
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In January, a federal judge reopened a legal battle about a 2021 Florida law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that barred transgender females from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, after an appeals court recently upheld a separate school policy preventing a transgender male student from using boys’ bathrooms, according to WFSU Public Media.
But episodes like this prove how dangerous these situations can turn, and every sport that allows males on women’s teams is just one accident away from a tragedy.
