For the second consecutive season, the Dighton-Rehoboth girls’ field hockey team will forfeit games against Somerset Berkley because of a boy on the Somerset Berkley roster.

Dighton-Rehoboth School Committee member Katie Ferreira-Aubin announced the move in a Facebook post last week.

“In an empowering move, Dighton Rehoboth has prioritized safety over victory for the second consecutive year, choosing not to compete against Somerset Berkley!" she wrote. "This decision exemplifies the importance of an athlete's well-being, physically and mentally particularly in light of Massachusetts state law allowing boys to play on girls' teams. The policy at DR was sparked by a serious injury sustained by an athlete during a 2023 game involving a male player. I stand with the DR field hockey team, we champion their commitment to safety and empowerment.”

The district adopted a policy in June 2024 allowing girls to opt out of competing against boys in sports without penalty.

It came in response to an injury suffered by a girl at the hands of a male player during a postseason tournament game between Dighton-Rehoboth and Swampscott High School, on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

During the game, a 2-1 loss to Swampscott, a girl on the Dighton-Rehoboth team got seriously hurt. Sawyer Groothuis, a boy, and the captain of Swampscott's team and a Northeastern Conference All-Star, drilled a girl in the face with a shot.

The female player suffered dental and facial injuries, requiring her to go to the hospital, Dighton-Rehoboth superintendent Bill Runey confirmed in a letter to parents in November 2023.

The incident took place during a Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 Round of 32 matchup.

Runey said last year that the district would support decisions to forfeit when necessary.

“Our Field Hockey coaches and captains made this decision, and we notified our opponent accordingly,” Runey told NewBostonPost in a written statement in July 2024. “The District supports this decision as there are times where we have to place a higher value on safety than on victory. We understand this forfeit will impact our chances for a league championship and possibly playoff eligibility, but we remain hopeful that other schools consider following suit to achieve safety and promote fair competition for female athletes.”

Somerset Berkley’s field hockey team includes junior Ryan Crook, a boy who also plays baseball.

Last year, Crook was named the South Coast Conference's Most Valuable Player for field hockey after leading his team to a Division 2 state championship. He scored both goals in his team's 2-1 win over Norwood in the state championship game.

Crook’s older brother, Lucas, also played field hockey at Somerset Berkley, graduating in 2020 as the program’s all-time leading scorer. He helped the team win state championships in 2018 and 2019.

Massachusetts is the only state that allows boys to compete in high school field hockey.

The policy stems from a 1979 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision, Attorney General v. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The court found that prohibiting boys from participating on girls’ teams violates the state's Equal Rights Amendment, which voters approved in a state referendum in 1976.

The Equal Rights Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution says the following:

All people are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin.

From 2016 to 2022, the number of boys playing on girls’ field hockey teams in Massachusetts increased from 28 to 66, as NewBostonPost previously reported.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has said it will not penalize Dighton-Rehoboth for its forfeits.

“The decision by the Dighton-Rehoboth School Committee was a local decision, and as such, the MIAA does not involve itself in local policy,” the organization told NewBostonPost in July 2024.

Dighton-Rehoboth had games scheduled against Somerset Berkley on Tuesday, September 16, and Tuesday, October 7, this season, according to Arbiter Live.

Dighton-Rehoboth is a regional public high school serving approximately 630 students from two towns about 35 miles south of Boston.

The superintendent and athletic director for Dighton-Rehoboth could not be reached for comment this past weekend.