Tensions are running high in a Massachusetts school district where a high school female field hockey player suffered “significant facial and dental injuries” after being hit in the face by a male opponent, an official said Wednesday.
Bill Runey, superintendent of Dighton-Rehoboth schools, appeared on “OutKick The Morning” with Charly Arnolt and described the anger in the district.
“It was very hot. The tension is very high,” said Runey. “At first, it was a sense of trauma. I went to meet the bus when the girls came home from Swampscott because I wanted to let them know they had the support of the district.
“That we would have resources available to them the next school day with our counseling staff. And the trauma that I saw in their eyes, the sadness that I saw in their eyes and in the coach’s eyes is something I will never forget.
“And now, it has turned into anger because of the fact that it seems like nobody is willing to listen to change.”
Runey’s statement came after Dighton-Rehoboth field hockey captain Kelsey Bain wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) urging it to make changes to its rules. He wrote that “MIAA needs to do better.”
Bain cited an article from the New Boston Post that said there were 41 boys playing on the girls field hockey team during the 2019-20 school year. Bain suggested the MIAA create a new league.
“There is likely to be more interest, but the stigma of men playing on girls’ teams may be a barrier,” Bain wrote. “I’m sure school districts can set up co-op teams to create more opportunities for boys to play in their own division, which I assume you’re 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.
Dighton-Rehoboth schools superintendent Bill Runey described the anger in the district after a female high school field hockey player was injured by gunfire from a male opponent. Swampscott High School
“You have an opportunity to change the negative publicity the MIAA received following the incident that occurred Thursday night by moving forward with the proposal for a seven-on-seven men’s league.”
Bain recalled the horror he and his teammates felt when they witnessed the incident.
“Screams and screams of terror and pain emanating from him after being hit filled the stadium,” Bain wrote.
The look of horror and shock on the faces of the girls around him was also chilling.
“Following the injury, my teammates were sobbing not only because they were afraid of their teammates but also because they had to go back out on the field and continue playing, against a male athlete who was hospitalized one of us. The traumatic event shines a light on the rules and regulations of male athletes participating in women’s sports.”
The MIAA cites the Massachusetts Equal Rights Amendment, adopted in 1976, which was extended to scholastic sports three years later.
The MIAA said it “understands” the safety concerns but that admissions have outweighed those safety concerns.
“We respect and understand the complexities and concerns that exist regarding student safety. However, student safety is not a successful defense for excluding students of one gender from participating on teams of the opposite gender,” the MIAA said in a statement. “The arguments usually fail because of the lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams.”
Players react on the field after an injury.Swampscott High School
In response to the MIAA’s statement, Bain wrote that “the cause was not addressed.”
“We all witness the immense damage that men have the ability to inflict on women during the game,” Bain wrote. “How long does the MIAA plan to use girls as statistical data points before they realize that boys don’t belong in girls’ sports? Twenty injuries? A hundred? Death?”
Bain added that high school field hockey rules were created for girls to play against girls.
“Changing the rules and equipment to accommodate a game involving boys is not only inconvenient, but it comes at a physical and emotional cost for the players who have to change the game they love,” he added. “By trying to create equality, you only create inequality.
“Please use this as an opportunity to take a negative incident and turn it into a positive change.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
