Dighton-Rehoboth School District passes policy on field hockey games following incident in 2023

DIGHTON, Mass. (WLNE) — Dighton-Rehoboth School District passed a new policy stating no coach or student on a single-sex team can be penalized by the district for forfeiting a match against an opposing team because that team includes athletes of the opposite sex.

The decision came after an incident in 2023 when a female field hockey player at Dighton-Rehoboth was severely injured while playing against a male field hockey player from another school.

Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent Bill Runey said they tried to tell the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to make a change to its policy requiring face protections, but saw no progress there.

“In the absence of that, again, we’ve had to take matters into our own hands because we realized we would probably have to forfeit some games over this, but we’re prioritizing safety over victory,” Runey said.

He added the policy only applies to mixed gender teams, meaning teams couldn’t forfeit games just because the opposing team has a transgender athlete.

A meeting is set for incoming field hockey players and families on July 29 at the high school to walk them through the new policy and the impact it may have on the upcoming year.