«The Swampscott player . has the exact same right to participate as any player on any team,» the high school told Newsweek.
Social media users were outraged on Friday after claims that a male athlete on a girls’ high school field hockey team injured an opposing player in Massachusetts.
During a game between Swampscott and Dighton-Rehoboth high schools on Thursday, a player lifted the ball into the air while taking a shot on goal. The ball hit a player on the opposing team in the face, prompting the girl to scream out. A video of the injury circulated online, fueling arguments about transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
Riley Gaines, former swimmer for the University of Kentucky, shared the video online, and Charlie Kirk, founder of TPUSA, expressed sympathy with the injured player. Kirk also claimed that the player is a male but «identifies as a female.» Amy E. Sousa, who advocates against transgender people using women’s bathrooms and playing on girls’ sports teams, called policies that allow transgender athletes to play on girls’ teams «abusive.
