A high school basketball game in Massachusetts was cut short earlier this month after one team forfeited due to injuries caused by a male transgender athlete on the other team — including at least one injury caught on video.
Collegiate Charter School of Lowell ended its game against KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate on February 8 at halftime while trailing 31-14, according to The Item, it shows up as a 10-0 win for KIPP in the standings, as that is the score used for forfeits in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball.
Collegiate Charter School of Lowell ended the game early due to injury concerns, and The Item reported that one player causing injuries in the game was a male player. The male player is over six feet tall and has facial hair, the report said. The injury occurred during a battle for a rebound underneath the basket.
InsideLowell posted a clip of the male player, who wears number 32 for KIPP Academy but is not identified by name in the video, injuring a girl during the game.
It is below:
A press spokesman for the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell sent NewBostonPost a statement supporting the school’s decision to forfeit the game.
Here is what it said:
On February 8th, the coach of the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell Girls’ Basketball Team decided to end a game at halftime after watching a third player injured in the game with KIPP Academy. The bench was already depleted going into the game with the 12-player roster having four players unable to play. When the coach saw three more girls go down in the first half leaving him with five players, he made the call to end the game early. The upcoming Charter School playoffs were looming, and he needed a healthy and robust bench in four days. Once the third was injured, the remaining five expressed concern to him about continuing to play. The players feared getting injured and not being able to compete in the playoffs.
In an effort to maintain safety for his team, he decided to forfeit. The Charter School supports this decision and reiterates its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students. We take the standards set by the MIAA and our Board of Trustees seriously and strive to uphold them on and off the court. We also follow the guidance from the MIAA and state laws regarding equity and access for all student-athletes.
KIPP Academy’s record was 10-7 when The Item published its article on February 14 last week, meaning it had clinched a spot in the MIAA Division 4 postseason tournament.
Male athletes who identify as girls can compete in girls’ sports in the Commonwealth. The state allows it due to a 2011 law called “An Act Relative to Gender Identity”; it made gender identity a protected class in Massachusetts public schools. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education directed the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to allow people to compete on teams that match their gender identity rather than their sex.
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