by Debra Heine
A girls’ basketball game between two Massachusetts high schools was cut short earlier this month after three female players were injured while playing against a six foot tall trans-identified biological male.
On February 6, the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell forfeited against KIPP Academy after only 16 minutes of play, ItemLive reported. KIPP was leading the February 6 game 31-14, but the game reportedly went into the books as a 10-0 forfeit win for KIPP.
A video posted on YouTube by “Inside Lowell” shows a Collegiate Charter School girl being dragged to the ground like a ragdoll while wrestling for a rebound with the much larger biological male player from KIPP Academy.
The girl can be seen grabbing her back and wincing in pain as she tried to get back up off the floor.
According to ItemLive’s sources, the biological male player is “more than 6 feet tall with facial hair.” He has reportedly been on the roster since the beginning of the season.
“A man hitting a woman used to be called domestic abuse. Now it’s called brave,” said former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines on X. “Who watches this and actually thinks this is ‘compassionate, kind, and inclusive’?”
Prior to this incident, two other Collegiate Charter School players suffered injuries on the court, although it is unclear whether the male athlete was involved in those injuries.
Collegiate Charter spokesperson Casey Crane released a statement backing coach Kevin Ortins’ decision to forfeit at halftime:
“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 statement read.
“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 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.”
The statement also noted that the remaining uninjured girls expressed “concern” to their coach about continuing to play.
“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.
Sources familiar with the situation told Inside Lowell that despite the Charter School’s apparent desire to stay out of the nationwide debate over trans-identified males in female sports, “there was legitimate concern from the girls on the Lowell Collegiate Charter School team for their physical well-being.”
“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.”
The Daily Item asked Collegiate Charter School of Lowell Athletic Director Kyle Pelczar whether the male player actions on the court had anything to do with the forfeit, and Pelczar indicated that it was not an issue.
“No, and Coach (Kevin Ortins) knew going into the game, already, because we had them at home the first game of the year and nothing happened then, so he knew going into the game,” Pelczar said.
In that December 12 game, KIPP defeated Collegiate Charter School, 36-29, the paper reported.
Pelczar explained Ortins’ reasons for forfeiting the game.
“So, he felt that his girls were getting injured, basically, all game,” Pelczar said. “He has a playoff game on Monday, so he didn’t want to have any more of his girls go down.”
According to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) handbook, Section 43.3.1: “a student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.”
The handbook also states that the rule cannot be enacted for the purpose of gaining a competitive advantage, although such a claim would be difficult to prove.
“When a school district submits a roster to the MIAA, it is verifying that it has determined that the students listed on a gender-specific sports team are eligible to participate either based on the gender listed on their official birth certificate or based on their bona fide gender identity and that no students are included on the roster solely for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in competitive athletics,” Section 43.3.2 reads. “The MIAA shall defer to the determination of the student and the student’s school regarding gender classification.”
The handbook goes on to say: “It is a recommended best practice that schools communicate with their opponents as necessary about the gender-specific needs of their team in order to promote inclusion – e.g. to ensure that appropriate locker room facilities are available, that announcer use athlete’s correct pronouns, etc.”
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Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Lowell Collegiate Charter School vs. KIPP Academy” by InsideLowell.
