Girls field hockey team forfeits match because opposing school has male student on roster

A high school girls field hockey team has forfeited a match to avoid playing against a male student on the opposing schools squad. 

Bill Runey, the superintendent of schools at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional high school in Massachusetts, revealed the coaches and captains of the team had made the decision in an effort to keep players safe.

The school implemented a policy in June 2024 which allows players and/or coaches to opt out of competitions... against an opposing team because that team includes members of the opposite sex.

The team notified Somerset Berkley Regional High School that players would not go through with the match on the basis that a player on the team is male.

A high school girls field hockey team has forfeited a match to avoid playing against biological males, following a harrowing incident in November last year (pictured) in which a female player had her teeth knocked out by a male competitor during play

Bill Runey, the superintendent of schools at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional high school in Massachusetts, revealed the coaches and captains of the team had made the decision in an effort to keep players safe

There are times where we have to place a higher value on safety than on victory, the school district statement read.

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. 

The decision was also partially swayed by a controversial match Dighton-Rehoboth played last year.

The girls team faced off against Swampscott High School in November, when a player suffered significant facial and dental injuries that required hospitalization after she was hit in the face with a shot from a biological male.

Co-captain Kelsey Bain wrote a statement calling for men to be banned from playing against women after the horrific injuries her friend endured. 

Co-captain Kelsey Bain wrote a statement calling for men to be banned from playing against women after the horrific injuries her friend endured last season 

Bain (pictured) led the charge to give female teams the right not to play against males

Following the injury, my teammates were sobbing not only in fear for their teammate but also in fear that they had to go back out onto the field and continue a game, playing against a male athlete who hospitalized one of our own, she said.

The traumatic event sheds light on the rules and regulations of male athletes participating in womens sports. 

Somerset Berkley Superintendent Jeff Schoonover said his school district follows all regulations and district policies for student participation in sport.

According to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, boys are entitled to join female sporting teams if there are no male teams of the same sport to join.

This is part of a commitment to the Equal Rights Amendment.

Male field hockey teams arent available in Massachusetts, meaning males are allowed to join girls teams.  

Schoonover said: Somerset Berkley supports the rights of all students to access and participate in athletics for which they are eligible.