A youth basketball team in Massachusetts forfeited a game after only a few minutes of play, reportedly due to an issue related to a player's gender competing on one of the teams.
The KIPP Academy girls basketball game on Feb. 8 against the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell ended at halftime, according to the Massachusetts-based news source The Daily Item.
KIPP was leading 31-14 at halftime, but Collegiate Charter left and the game didn't resume for a second half.
There were three Collegiate Charter players injured in the first half, reportedly by a trans KIPP player who identifies as a girl, Fox News reported Tuesday morning. A news release from Collegiate Charter said the coach made the decision to end the game because the team had arrived with 12 players on its roster, and three girls were injured in the first half, the Daily Wire reported.
“The bench was already depleted going into the game with the 12-player roster having four players unable to play,” the news release stated. “When the coach saw three more girls go down in the first half leaving him with five players, he made the call to end the game early.”
“Once the third was injured, the remaining five expressed concern to him about continuing to play,” school officials said in the release. "The players feared getting injured and not being able to compete in the playoffs." The school added that it supports the coach’s decision to call the game, and emphasized its commitment to “inclusivity” and “equity.”
The game is considered a 10-0 forfeit win for KIPP.
According to Daily Item report, a male student plays on the KIPP Academy girls' basketball team. The player has reportedly been on the team roster since the beginning of the season.
The coaches of the two teams have not said 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.
“He felt that his girls were getting injured, basically, all game,” Pelczar said, as reported by the Daily Item. He said 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."
Students are permitted to play on the sports teams that is “consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity," according to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Item reported.
