Last week, an incident involving a transgender athlete went viral when a transgender female field hockey player accidentally hit a shot off the face of an opponent, leading to criticism on social media. And now, one player on the opposing team is speaking out.
The incident happened during a high school field hockey game between Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School and Swampscott High School on Thursday. According to the Dighton-Rehoboth player suffered “significant facial and dental injuries” that “required hospitalization” after she was struck in the face. And now, Dighton-Rehoboth field hockey captain Kelsey Bain is expressing her outrage.
In a letter to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, Bain called for a change in the rules to prevent transgender athletes from participating.
“We all witnessed the substantial damage that a male has the ability to cause against a female during a game,” Bain wrote. “How much longer does the MIAA plan on using girls as statistical data points before they realize that boys do not belong in girls’ sports? Twenty injuries? One hundred? Death?”
Bain argued that the field hockey rules and equipment are not designed to accommodate transgender girls, and making any changes now would come at a “physical and emotional cost” to the players who are already playing the game.
“Altering the rules and equipment to adapt to gameplay involving boys is not only an inconvenience, but it comes with a physical and emotional cost for players who are forced to change the game they love,” she added. “By trying to create equality, you are only creating inequalities.
“Please use this as an opportunity to take a negative incident and turn it into a positive change.”
The MIAA did not immediately comment on the letter.
[Fox News]
