The team loses against KIPP Academy after an alleged play involving a male who identifies as female

Sports

by Justin Tash

The girls' high school basketball team lost a recent game after three players were injured, including a player who was allegedly injured during a game involving a 6-foot-tall player on the other team who identified as female.

Collegiate Charter School in Lowell, Massachusetts lost its February 8 game against KIPP Academy at halftime, with coach Kevin Ortens deciding to end the game as his roster was depleted four days before a playoff game. The school said.

Fox News reported The KIPP Academy girls team has a male player with facial hair on its roster who identifies as female, and a local Massachusetts enforcer Daily itemwhich also reported that the team includes a male player, said “KIPP officials refused to confirm the player’s gender identity.”

The player received death threats that led to the cancellation of KIPP's game on Friday against Lynn Tech, By daily item.

InsideLowell posted a YouTube video of the play that allegedly involved a KIPP player wrestling for a basketball against a college player, falling to the ground in pain, holding her back and having trouble getting up.

Kyle Belczar, the college's director of athletics, told Daily Item that the KIPP player had nothing to do with the decision to forfeit; The two teams previously played each other on December 12, with KIPP winning 36-29.

“No, coach [Ortins] “He knew going into the game already, because we played them at home in the first game of the year and nothing happened after that, so he knew going into the game,” Belczar said.

Collegiate said in a statement that its remaining healthy players “fear injury and not being able to compete in the playoffs.” The statement also said the school “reiterates the values ​​of inclusivity and safety for all students.”

When asked by The Daily Item, KIPP Academy athletic director Anthony Grimaldi declined to say whether the school believed a male player who identified as female was to blame for Collegiate's loss.

“KIPP does not wish to make a comment at this time on why the other team lost the game. We are looking forward to our next game,” Grimaldi said.

Section 43.3.1 of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association booklet It states, “A student may not be excluded from participating in a gender-specific athletic team that matches the student’s true gender identity.”

Section 43.3.2 states that a student cannot be listed “solely for the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage”.