High school girls’ basketball team forfeits game after injuries mount against opposing team allegedly playing a male

The girls’ basketball team from the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell in Massachusetts reportedly forfeited a game after only 16 minutes of play, possibly due to a male player competing on the opposing team.

Local sources stated that a male student plays for the KIPP Academy girls’ basketball team, and stands over 6 feet tall with visible facial hair. The player has allegedly has been on the roster since the beginning of the season. Notably, KIPP Academy also offers a boys’ basketball team.

The coaches of the two teams have yet to publicly acknowledge that the presence of a male student competing against an all-girls’ team led to the forfeit. However, Kyle Pelczar, athletic director at Collegiate, stated the decision to forfeit the game was made by team coach Kevin Ortins. 

“So, he felt that his girls were getting injured, basically, all game,” Pelczar said. He added that the girls’ team had a playoff game to compete in the following Monday, so the coach “didn’t want to have any more of his girls go down.” 

According to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), students are permitted to play on the sports teams that is “consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.” 

The MIAA claims that students are only permitted to play on the team opposite their biological sex so long as the team matches their gender identity and that “no students are included on the roster solely for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage in competitive athletics.” 

Some critics in Massachusetts believe that allowing male students to compete in girls’ athletics is unfair, regardless of the reasoning. 

“The MIAA continues to prioritize ideology over fairness in girls’ sports,” Mariah Newell, a Communications and Social Media Specialist with Massachusetts Family Institute, told The Lion. 

“Not only is this an injustice to the female students, but it puts them at greater risk of injury. How many young girls must get hurt before the adults stand up for what is right?” 

Young women athletes who have experienced the frustration of males co-opting their athletic teams also say that they resent being forced to fear for their safety during game play. 

“Boys intruding female sports is not just a question of fairness and opportunity, but one of safety,” Macy Petty, an NCAA Division 2 volleyball player and advocate for women’s sports who has also been forced to compete against a male peer, told The Lion. 

“It’s going to take a change in leadership to alter off this destructive path. But until that happens, these coaches must continue to do what’s necessary to protect the safety and dignity of the girls on their team.”