A female field-hockey player suffered severe facial injuries after she was hit in the face by a ball that was struck by a male opponent.
The superintendent of a Massachusetts school district is demanding safety restrictions on male participation in girls’ athletics in the state after a female field-hockey player suffered severe facial injuries from being hit in the face with a ball shot by a male opponent.
In early November, a girl playing for the Dighton-Rehoboth field-hockey team got struck in the face by a shot sent by a senior Swampscott male player, who has since been identified as Sawyer Groothius. The female player, whose identity has not been revealed, sustained significant facial and dental injuries, including the loss of some teeth.
The incident spurred Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent of Schools Bill Runey to speak out in support of female athletes who are threatened by the natural physical advantages possessed by men and boys.
“There’s a much higher risk of severe injuries when males are allowed to participate in female athletics,” he said. “I understand it is the legislation we have to work under. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but in the short term there need to be modifications to the rules, so we can do better in terms of player safety.”
The Equal Rights amendment in Massachusetts dictates that boys can compete on the female team if there is no male equivalent team for the sport. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) then applies this law, as well as Title IX, to allow males to play alongside females.
“A boy can’t play softball if there is a baseball team,” Runey said. “A boy can’t play girl’s volleyball if there is a boys volleyball team.”
While he’s never witnessed a case like this so close to home, Runey said he’s “seen footage of males playing on the front line in volleyball and spiking the ball and concussing the female player on the opposite side.”
In April, 2023, Payton McNabb, then a senior at Hiwassee Dam High School in North Carolina, testified to the state legislature about the mental and physical trauma she endured when she was struck in the face by a volleyball that was spiked by a male competitor in a match last September.
“I suffered a concussion and neck injury that to this day I’m still recovering from,” she said. Other injuries she’s still living with include impaired vision and partial paralysis on the right side of her body, she said. McNabb has also experienced anxiety and depression.
“This is in no way a commentary that female athletes are weaker,” Runey said. “I have three children, two daughters, and both of them were involved in high school athletics. . . . This is a case of my concern of the potential severity of the injuries. Injuries are going to happen if it’s males vs. males and females vs. females, but the risk of the severity of injuries is greater when males are participating against females.”
McNabb’s opponent in the volleyball game was a man who says he identifies as female. However, it’s unclear how the Swampscott player identifies. Pressed on how the district would respond if a man who declared himself a woman, and maybe even reduced his testosterone level, were to cause a similar casualty involving a female athlete, Runey said: “There’s no transgender aspect to this particular case, so I’ve limited my focus to concerns over player safety.”
While the MIAA is depending on Title IX to justify incorporating men into certain women’s teams, which Runey said is very unpopular in his community, the federal law is overlooking another equality issue.
“For every male that gets a uniform on a girls’ team, that’s one less girl that gets a chance to play,” he said. “And for every boy that gets playing time, that’s less playing time for a female on the team. I’m curious as to the legal position of Title IX on that particular scenario.”
Overall, parents and local citizens are very upset over the incident, he said.
“There are residents of our two towns that are in support of our concern over this,” he added. “The team is very close-knit.”
One of the co-captains of the Dighton-Rehoboth women’s field hockey team, Kelsey Bain, wrote a letter to the MIAA accusing the organization of using state law as a “scapegoat for criticism” and urging it to prohibit males in women’s sports and to create a boys’ league for field hockey.
“The difference in the anatomy of males and females solely shows the risk involved in allowing biological males to participate in female sports,” Bain said. “On average, male bodies have about a 10% athletic advantage over female bodies. . . . 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?”
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum, backed up Bain on X, calling out the MIAA and Democratic Massachusetts governor Maura Healey for their silence after the incident.
“Do you stand with Kelsey and her teammates?” she asked. “Or do you believe women should have to fear for their safety & worry about losing opportunities to males every time they step on the field/court?”
As a possible remedy, Runey proposed limitations on where and how males on women’s teams can play.
“This is not about the nuances of how strong a male is, how fast a male is,” he said. “On the principle of the matter, I don’t think males should be participating against females unless there are significant restrictions on the males that increase player safety.”
His preference, he said, would be to allow males to play only defense, so they’re not taking shots on goal, similar to male volleyball players who can play only on the back line.
“The risk of hurting someone is significantly less if the playing area and the skills that they have to demonstrate are limited,” he said.
Requiring protective equipment such as face masks for players could be another way of mitigating or preventing injuries, he said.