Arr! Thar be a call for change in Massachusetts! Cap'n says, a scallywag sent a lass to Davy Jones' locker in a field hockey brawl!
2023-11-03
Avast ye scurvy dogs! A lassie playin' field hockey in Massachusetts hath found herself in Davy Jones' locker, havin' taken a mighty blow to her fair countenance from a scurvy knave on th' enemy crew. Arrr!
A superintendent in Massachusetts is calling for a change to the state's rules after a girl's teeth were knocked out during a field hockey game by a shot from a male player. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association allows males and females to participate in the other gender's sports if it is not made available to their own. The incident occurred during a playoff game between Swampscott High School and Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School. The girl on the Dighton-Rehoboth team suffered significant facial and dental injuries that required hospitalization after she took a shot to the face from a male on the Swampscott team.Bill Runey, the superintendent of the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District, is now calling for a change to a rule that has been in place since the 1970s. He expressed concerns about player safety and the need for a renewed approach to protect the athletes. The Massachusetts Equal Rights Amendment, which was adopted in 1976 and extended to scholastic sports three years later, is cited by the MIAA to justify the rule.
The MIAA acknowledges the safety concerns but maintains that inclusion is more important. They argue that student safety has not been a successful defense to excluding students of one gender from participating on teams of the opposite gender. They claim there is a lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams.
Overall, this incident has sparked a debate about the rules surrounding gender and sports participation in Massachusetts. Superintendent Bill Runey is advocating for change to prioritize player safety, while the MIAA is emphasizing the importance of inclusion. The outcome of this debate remains to be seen.