MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Who is the principal of Swampscott High School? Massachusetts female player loses teeth by shot from male opponent on girls' field hockey team

Bill Runey, the superintendent of the female player's high school, said that she suffered 'significant facial' injuries and required hospitalization

LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS: A Massachusetts female field hockey athlete of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School (DRRHS) sustained "significant facial" injuries while tackling a field hockey ball shot by a male student from Swampscott High School (SHS), which is led by Dennis Kohut. 

Kohut was the assistant principal of SHS from 2017 to 2019, before being promoted to the role of principal. As of now, he's yet to comment on the incident. 

Per the New York Post, the female athlete got her teeth knocked out and required hospitalization, resulting from the unfortunate incident. 

How did the female athlete of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School get injured?

In the footage of the incident that since went viral, the male athlete from SHS can be seen winding his stick back to take a shot. Seconds later, the female defender of DRRHS sat down on the field in agony after supposedly being hit directly on her face.

The ball struck her face with a loud "thud," injuring her teeth to a great extent. Following the injury, the staff of DRRHS rushed to the girl and started with first aid.

Bill Runey, the superintendent of DRRHS, wrote, "Last night, a female field hockey player for the Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School girls’ field hockey team sustained significant facial and dental injuries when she was struck in the face by a shot in the third quarter versus Swampscott in an MIAA state playoff contest," in a letter to the parents. 

His letter continued, "This injury required hospitalization. The player, her family, teammates, and coaches remain in my prayers."

Runey also described, "The shot was taken by a male member of the Swampscott girls’ field hockey team." 

Following the accident, the female athlete underwent the loss of two of her teeth, however, her current condition is unclear.

DRRHS Superintendent Bill Runey calls for a reassessment of the MIAA rules

Since 1979, the rules of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) allow equal participation by male and female athletes on the field.

In their handbook, MIAA states, "No student shall be denied in any implied or explicit manner the opportunity to participate in any interscholastic activity because of gender."

A school can deny a male or a female student from joining the school’s team only if the school "offers a girls’ team and a boys’ team" for the same sport. 

But if there is a "single team in a particular sport," a school must allow the students to join the unisex team "to ensure that the school’s gendered designation of athletic opportunities complies with Title IX."

In his letter, Bill Runey further wrote, "While I understand that the MIAA has guidelines in place for co-ed participation under section 43 of their handbook, this incident dramatically magnifies the concerns of many about player safety."

He continued, "For any male athlete that’s participating in a female sport, there are zero restrictions. So I’m looking for the MIAA to facilitate some conversations to have some middle ground in terms of player safety."

The superintendent also asked the association to review the policies, saying, "Seeing the horror in the eyes of our players and coaches upon greeting their bus last night is evidence to me that there has to be a renewed approach by the MIAA to protect the safety of our athletes."

MIAA issues statement over the incident 

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association also made a statement regarding the incident where they stated that the organization "has been made aware of an injury that occurred during a field hockey tournament game played Thursday."

Per the statement obtained by WCVB, MIAA noted, "First and foremost, our concern is for the health and recovery of the injured student-athlete, as well as of the well-being of all affected student-athletes, coaches and administrators from both schools."

Citing that MIAA supports all the 383 member schools, the "member schools must adhere to all federal and state laws to assure equitable opportunities for students of different sexes or genders."

They defended the clause of the same gendered team, saying, "Massachusetts General Law was originally enacted to protect students from discrimination based on sex, and later expanded to protect students based on gender identification."

"As a result of this law, and consistent with the interpretive guidance offered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, athletic opportunities must be afforded to students in accordance with their identified gender, not necessarily their birth-assigned gender," further stated MIAA. 

MIAA mentioned that while they respect the concerns "regarding student safety," it "has not been a successful defense to excluding students of one gender from participating on teams of the opposite gender."

The "lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams" has been cited as a major deterrent by MIAA.