The MIAA is in the U.S. Department of Education’s crosshairs over possible Title IX violations after a viral high school basketball game when a reportedly transgender player injured three girls.
Following President Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the Department of Education on Thursday announced investigations into the MIAA, University of Pennsylvania and San Jose State University — where potential violations of Title IX have been reported.
The Department of Education is citing last year’s Massachusetts high school basketball game when a coach forfeited the game after three girls got hurt.
The coach for the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell girls basketball team ended the game against Lynn’s KIPP Academy at halftime.
The Department of Education in its announcement noted the MIAA’s handbook section about gender and participation: “A student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.”
The MIAA did not immediately respond to the Herald about the federal investigation.
The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights will be conducting the probes. The Office for Civil Rights is reviewing athletic participation policies at “a number of schools to evaluate their alignment with Title IX protections for female athletes,” the department said.
Last week, the Department of Education notified K-12 schools and higher education institutions to enforce Title IX protections on the basis of biological sex.
“President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ is a promise to women and girls: this administration will not tolerate the mistreatment of female athletes,” Craig Trainor, acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, said in a statement.
“The Department is taking swift action to investigate three entities for suspected Title IX violations: San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association,” he added. “The previous administration trampled the rights of American women and girls—and ignored the indignities to which they were subjected in bathrooms and locker rooms—to promote a radical transgender ideology. That regime ended on January 20, 2025.”
In last year’s basketball game in Massachusetts, the Lowell charter school team’s bench was already depleted heading into the game. Four of the team’s 12 players were already unavailable for the contest.
“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,” the school said in a statement last year. “The upcoming Charter School playoffs were looming, and he needed a healthy and robust bench in four days.
“Once the third was injured, the remaining five expressed concern to him about continuing to play,” the school added. “The players feared getting injured and not being able to compete in the playoffs.”
The Lowell charter school said it supported the coach’s decision and reiterated “its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students.”
“We take the standards set by the MIAA and our Board of Trustees seriously and strive to uphold them on and off the court,” the school added. “We also follow the guidance from the MIAA and state laws regarding equity and access for all student-athletes.”
This incident between the Lowell and Lynn schools came a few months after a high-profile incident during a local field hockey game.
A Swampscott High School boy player’s shot struck a Dighton-Rehoboth High School player in the face, sending her to the hospital with significant facial and dental injuries. The incident led to shrieks and tears all over the field hockey pitch.
The viral shot from the male player led to calls for gender rule changes for high school sports, especially when it comes to girls’ field hockey. In Massachusetts, a boy can play on a girls’ team if that sport is not offered in the school for the boy.