A Massachusetts high school field hockey athlete has suffered “major facial trauma” after being hit by a field hockey ball fired by a male student at Swampscott High (SHS), where Principal Dennis Kohut is the headmaster. Kohut was SHS’s assistant principal from 2017 to 2019 before being promoted to principal. He has yet to state the incident. According to reports, the athlete lost her front teeth and had to be hospitalized after the incident.
In the video that’s gone viral, you can see the SHS athlete take a shot and then wind his stick back. A few seconds later, the DRRHS defender sits on the field in pain after being hit right in the face. The ball hit her in the face with a “thud” and she lost two of her teeth. After the accident, DRRHS staff rushed to the scene and started treating her. It’s unclear how she’s doing right now. In a letter to parents, DRRHS Superintendent Bill Runey said that the female field hockey player “suffered severe facial and dental injuries” when she was hit in the face in the third quarter of the game against Swampscott in the MIAA state playoff.
Who is the Principal of Swampscott High School?
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) rules have allowed male and female athletes to play on the same team since 1979. A school can only deny a male or female student from playing on the same team if they offer a girls’ team and a boys’ team in the same sport. But if there’s only one team in a sport, the school has to let the students join a unisex team to make sure the school’s gender diversity policy is in line with Title IX. The Superintendent asked the MIAA to review their policies, saying that seeing the fear in the eyes of the players and coaches when they saw their bus last night was proof that the MIAA needs to take a new approach to make sure our athletes are safe.
The MIAA said they heard about the injury during Thursday’s field hockey game. They said they support all the 383 member schools in the state and that they need to follow all the rules to make sure everyone has equal opportunities. They said they defended the same-gender clause. The MAIAA said there’s no correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams, but if there’s just one team playing one sport, they have to let the kids join the same team so they can follow Title IX. The Superintendent wanted the MAIA to review the policies. The look on the faces of our players and coaches last night, when they got off the bus, was a reminder that the MIAA needs to step up and do more to protect our athletes.
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