A Massachusetts private school has stood by the decision to allow a transgender basketball player to compete on the girls’ team — blasting the “harmful comments” of critics outraged after three opposing players say they got hurt.
KIPP Academy Lynn left another team forfeiting a recent game after the coach said he feared his girls getting injured as a now-viral video showed some getting knocked down by the 6-foot trans athlete.
KIPP’s executive director, Rhonda “Nikki” Barnes, confirmed to the Boston Globe this week that the unidentified athlete identifies as transgender and is also on the girls’ volleyball and track teams.
“To the best of our knowledge, this student has never been on a men’s team at KIPP,” Barnes told the paper.
Despite the furor over the match, KIPP stood by the decision to let the unidentified trans female compete, suggesting that the scandal was merely from web warriors despite outrage from female athletes.
“We condemn harmful comments being made online toward members of our community, and will continue to let the vision, mission and principles of our organization guide our actions,” academy spokesperson Samantha Cooke told the Globe.
Barnes previously told Fox News Digital that “the vision of KIPP Massachusetts is that every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.”
“We also support state laws and regulations, which provide students with the right to participate in all school extracurricular activities and sports based on their gender identity or expression,” the executive director said.
The school is also receiving support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
Its Executive Director Carol Rose slammed the now-viral clip, which was shared by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, as being “part of a coordinated attempt nationwide to try to remove LGBTQ people from public life.”
She said here are “hundreds, if not thousands” of trans students playing high school sports without issue, warning against “conflating allegations of aggressive conduct by one player with broader issues of inclusion.”
The opposing team, the Collegiate School of Lowell, said it forfeited the Feb. 8 game after speaking with parents, players and coaches, and discovered that “most of the players did not want to continue the game witnessing the third player injured and the roughness of that play,” a spokeswoman told the Globe.
“We follow the Massachusetts state laws protecting the rights of our students,” spokeswoman Casey Crane said. “But we need more guidance on the safety piece and how we do that.”
The team was also concerned about its ability to compete in a playoff game, which was just four days away, she noted.
School officials have previously reiterated “its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students.”
Under the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association handbook, which guides high school sports in the state, “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.”
But, it also says, a student can’t be included on a roster “solely for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage.”
The Athletic Association said it “has been made aware” of the incident, a spokesperson told the Boston Herald.
“The MIAA continues to serve as a resource to its member schools as they navigate the facts of the matter at the local level,” it said.