Dighton-Rehoboth School District adopts field hockey policy in 2023 after incident

DIGHTON, Massachusetts (WLNE) – The Dighton-Rehoboth School District has adopted a new policy that states that no coach or student of a same-sex team can be penalized by the district for forfeiting a game against the opposing team because that team includes athletes of the opposite sex.

The decision was made following an incident in 2023 when a Dighton-Rehoboth field hockey player was seriously injured while playing against a field hockey player from another school.

Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent Bill Runey said they have tried to get the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to change its face covering policy, but have seen no progress.

“Since that wasn’t the case, we had to take matters into our own hands again because we realized we were probably going to lose some games because of it, but for us safety is more important than winning,” Runey said.

He added that the rule only applies to mixed-gender teams, meaning teams cannot forfeit games just because the opposing team has a transgender athlete.

A meeting is planned for new field hockey players and their families at the high school on July 29 to inform them of the new policy and its potential impact on the upcoming year.