Gloucester High School field hockey player Jill Lukegord is yet another casualty of the death of common sense. She is a casualty of the logical consequences that follow from blindly bowing to the gods of political correctness.
And her case should serve as a warning to the gods of school sports in Massachusetts - the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association - that it is time for them to come to their senses.
Lukegord broke her finger last week in a game when she collided with another player - Adam Izzicupo of Saugus. "He ran me over and then threw me to the ground," she said. Yes, Izzicupo is a male. He was the only male in the game. He is one of just three male field hockey players in the entire Northeastern Conference. And he wasn't breaking any rules.
He can play on what used to be, more sensibly, all-female teams, because the MIAA interprets Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sexual bias in school sports, to mean that males and females must be allowed to play on the same teams.
This is madness, especially in what all sides agree is a contact sport.
No, every male is not stronger, faster or heavier than every female. But in general, they are. That is why there is both an NBA and a WNBA. That is why, overwhelmingly, men play baseball and women play softball. That is why there is a male and a female winner of the Boston Marathon. And on and on.
Yes, there is the possibility of injury in any game that involves contact. But injuries are much more likely to happen when males are playing females, and it is much more likely that the females will suffer more, or more severe, injuries. Is this what the MIAA really wants to promote?
Males and females are physically different. It doesn't mean one gender is more valuable than the other, or should have easier access to athletic participation. But it should mean, in a world with a measure of logic and common sense, that they should not be pitted against one another.
Title IX, passed in 1972 when the budgets for men's athletic programs dwarfed those for women, was aimed at correcting that imbalance. That is a laudable and sensible thing to do. Women deserve the same access to sports - if they want it - as men. But it has now been twisted to the point where it is endangering the safety of our young athletes.
If that many males want to play field hockey, let them form their own teams and play one another. If enough girls are interested in football, let them do the same.
But combining them, especially when a male and a female face off in a contact sport, is asking for trouble. Trouble found Jill Lukegord last week. If the MIAA does not come to its senses, it will surely find more.
