Earlier this month, a mom in Pembroke confronted her local school committee after her daughter lost to a male in an indoor track and field competition.
In this competition, the MSTCA Northeast Invitational, the top 8 female athletes from the preliminary round would go on to be finalists – and thanks to a male placing highly in the competition, the female athlete from Pembroke came in 9th and did not earn her rightful spot as a finalist in her event.
We have identified the athlete in question, and while we do not publish the names of minors, we have determined that this trans-identifying young man has beat out girls in at least 4 other competitions just this season alone.
In her testimony to the school committee, this mother explained that only the scores for the finalists are recorded and viewed by colleges, and therefore, non-finalists miss out on college recruitment and athletic scholarships. When males win in competitions intended for females, female athletes are unjustly deprived of these opportunities. We must not allow this to continue.
MFI has been raising awareness about the dangers and injustice of males competing in girls sports for years and petitioning the MIAA to change their unfair policies that allow this, but the fight is still happening.
The MIAA is the governing body that makes the rules for school sports in MA. Their rules do not allow boys to play on girls’ teams when there’s a boys’ team available –unless a boy identifies as a girl. When that happens, the MIAA requires schools to let boys play on the girls’ team. Common sense tells us that girls should compete with other girls, yet the MIAA seems determined to prioritize ideology over fairness.
How many more female athletes will lose competitions to males? What must happen for the MIAA to take these complaints from concerned parents seriously?
During her public comments, the concerned Pembroke mother requested that biological sex be used as standard language for female sports in her town, rather than gender identity. She also urged the school committee to petition the MIAA on behalf of Pembroke’s female athletes to change their policies so that males are no longer permitted to compete in female sports.
Will the Pembroke School Committee act to protect the safety and rights of their female athletes? Their next meeting will be held on February 3rd, 2026. We will be watching to see if this brave mother’s requests are considered.
We encourage you to spread the word about this injustice – nothing changes if we don’t speak up for common sense rules in student athletics. And we know change is possible – Dighton-Rehoboth stood for biological truth, Pembroke can too.
We will continue to stand for fairness in women’s sports, and we encourage you to join us in the fight. To support this effort, consider donating to MFI today!
