Tipsheet

A 'Gross Misinterpretation' of Title IX Lets Massachusetts Boys Steal Championships From Girls' Teams

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 22, 2025 8:00 AM

It's tough to be a woman or a girl in Massachusetts these days.

Earlier this week, Townhall reported how Governor Maura Healey appointed Giselle Byrd, a man — sorry, "trans woman" — to the state's Commission on the Status of Women back in August. State Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeida (R-7th Plymouth) blasted the decision.

"Out of the nearly three and a half million biological girls and women in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gov. Healey couldn’t identify a qualified biological woman to appoint to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women?" she asked.

Apparently not.

But things got worse for girls in the state this week, when two sports teams were denied state championships because they lost to teams that fielded boys. And not "trans-identifying boys" either.

The Oliver Ames volleyball team and Somerset Berkley field hockey both won the title in their respective divisions. They faced teams composed entirely of girls.

This is the second consecutive title for Somerset Berkley, as junior Ryan Crook was on the team last year, too.

The Somerset Berkley coach, Jen Crook, has won four such titles and all while a boy played on her team. In 2018 and 2019, Crook's other son, Lucas, was on the team. Both Ryan and Lucas also hold the school's all-time scoring record, denying girls access to yet another accomplishment.

Over at Oliver Ames, the volleyball team had two boys playing, Evan Casey and Sean Raymond. The school was undefeated this year.

The problem in Massachusetts is systemic and goes beyond trans activism. The state allows boys to play on any girls' team without even identifying as a girl or being on medication to restrict testosterone, provided the school doesn't offer a boys' team.

"This is a gross misinterpretation and misapplication of Title IX and goes against the principles of good sportsmanship and fair sport," HeCheated wrote.

And the clarification showed how these boys, and their schools, are abusing the system.

The entire post reads:

The boys on these teams do NOT identify as "girls." They are not lying about their sex, and they are not going into the girls' locker rooms and restrooms.

But they are boys playing on the girls' teams due to unfair Massachusetts law that allows them to do so.Many people in the US are not aware of this, as this is the only state where this occurs (formerly in Pennsylvania), but Massachusetts has been allowing boys to play on girls' teams if there is no boys' equivalent at the school for decades.

This is in direct violation of Title IX which mandates that male and female students be given equal opportunity to participate in athletics. 

When boys are given access to both boys' sports and girls' sports, they have more opportunity to participate than girls, who are not likely to make boys' teams. They are also given more opportunity to succeed, as their presence on what is usually a female-only team gives them a huge advantage against other female-only teams.

This is unequal and unfair. Whether a boy calls himself a boy or a girl, he is still a male athlete unfairly competing against female athletes.

It's bad enough when a "trans-identifying" boy usurps a spot on a team and records from girls. It's even worse when officials let boys onto girls' teams by abusing Title IX.