Massachusetts
Massachusetts field hockey team forfeits against opponent with boy player, catches eye of Riley Gaines
The Dighton-Rehoboth field hockey team has decided to put the safety of its players ahead of two potential victories this season, forfeiting both of its games against an opponent that includes a male on its roster.
It’s a move that caught the attention of prominent women’s rights advocate, 12-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who encouraged other schools to stand up.
“Safety and fairness should take priority over inclusion,” Gaines said Tuesday in a post on X. “Schools shouldn’t participate in the farce. I know it’s easier said than done, but all schools should follow Dighton-Rehoboth’s example.”
Gaines’ comment came after Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent Bill Runey informed the media Monday evening that the regional high school’s field hockey team had opted to forgo its game against Somerset Berkley, scheduled for next Tuesday.
The team also decided to forfeit its second game with Somerset Berkley, scheduled for Oct. 8.
Not all were on board with the development, with a critic saying on social media, “So quitting is encouraged now? sad how far our nation has fallen.”
In a release to the media, Runey cited the district’s “Interscholastic Athletics” policy, which the School Committee passed in June allowing student-athletes to forfeit games against teams with players of the opposite sex.
Coaches won’t be penalized for forfeiting games against such teams.
“Our Field Hockey coaches and captains made this decision, and we notified our opponent accordingly,” Runey stated in a release. “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,” he added, “but we remain hopeful that other schools consider following suit to achieve safety and promote fair competition for female athletes.”
Matt McKinnon, Dighton-Rehoboth’s athletic director, said the team made the decision “toward the end of the summer,” one that he called a “surprise to Somerset Berkley,” in a statement to The Sun Chronicle.
On Tuesday, Somerset Berkley Superintendent Jeff Schoonover shared this statement: “The Somerset Berkley Regional School District follows all MIAA regulations and school district policies for participation in interscholastic athletics. Somerset Berkley supports the rights of all students to access and participate in athletics for which they are eligible.”
Somerset Berkley has been a field hockey powerhouse over the years, a team that has had boys help lead them to numerous Division 1 state titles.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has said it won’t intervene in Dighton-Rehoboth’s policy that allows an athlete or coach to opt out of playing against mixed-sex opponents.
According to the MIAA handbook, males are allowed to participate on female teams in Massachusetts based on the state’s Equal Rights Amendment.
Boys’ field hockey is not offered in Massachusetts, allowing males to play the sport on girls’ teams, per the MIAA rule.
Dighton-Rehoboth, a rural district of roughly 2,500 students in Bristol County, has risen in the national debate of whether males and females should be allowed to intermingle in sports following a scary incident involving its field hockey team last year.
A girl player, in her senior year, had to be rushed to the hospital after suffering significant facial and dental injuries when a Swampscott High School boy player’s shot struck her in the face.
The same player who took the shot, off of a corner, scored both goals in a 2-0 shutout for Swampscott in a tournament contest.
Swampscott Athletic Director Kelly Wolff called the incident “an unfortunate injury” that came on a “legal play” and the shot “deflected off her teammate’s stick.”
The nature of the play also triggered a debate on MIAA equipment rules– field hockey players are allowed to wear facial protection on offensive corners, but the equipment is not required.
“The Swampscott player who took the shot is a 4-year varsity player and co-captain who, per MIAA rules, has the exact same right to participate as any player on any team,” Wolff said in a statement at the time.
A legal note from the MIAA highlights how “boys have been competing on girls’ teams, and girls have been competing on boys’ teams, for more than 40 years,” based on the Equal Rights Amendment and Title IX.
Runey and a team captain, after the “horror” last November, called on the MIAA to revisit its guidelines. He also pointed out how the advancement of equipment and training that student-athletes receive today should require officials “to be more thoughtful about all of our rules and policies regarding safety.”
“Seeing the horror in the eyes of our players and coaches upon greeting their bus last night is evidence to me that there has to be a renewed approach by the MIAA to protect the safety of our athletes,” Runey wrote in a letter to the school community.
The MIAA has said “student safety” is not a “successful defense” in not including males from playing on female teams and vice versa. “The arguments generally fail due to the lack of correlation between injuries and mixed-gender teams,” the association said last year.
Originally Published:
Massachusetts
Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay $934K after it botched MLB parlay bets
A costly sportsbook screwup left DraftKings on the hook for nearly $1 million after Massachusetts regulators ordered the payouts tied to a botched MLB parlay scheme.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to reject DraftKings’ bid to void $934,137 in payouts stemming from a series of correlated parlays placed during MLB’s 2025 American League Championship Series, according to Bookies.com.
A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes, exploiting an internal DraftKings configuration error that allowed the bettor to stack multiple versions of the same bet into one wager.
DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.
Commissioners flatly rejected that argument.
The wagers were tied to DraftKings’ “Player to Record X+ Hits in Series” market during the seven-game ALCS between Toronto and Seattle.
Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player.
That designation disabled safeguards designed to block bettors from parlaying correlated outcomes from the same market.
As a result, the bettor was able to combine multiple Lukes hit thresholds — including 5+, 6+, 7+ and 8+ hits — into single parlays, functionally creating an inflated wager on Lukes recording eight or more hits at dramatically enhanced odds.
The bettor also added unrelated, high-probability legs, including NFL moneyline bets, to further juice payouts.
Lukes ultimately appeared in all seven games and finished the series with nine hits, clearing every threshold.
Of the 27 parlays placed, 24 hit cleanly. Only three lost due to unrelated college football legs involving Clemson, Florida State and Miami.
During a heated exchange at Thursday’s commission meeting, DraftKings executive Paul Harrington accused the patron of fraud and unethical conduct.
Commissioners bristled. One of them, Eileen O’Brien, blasted DraftKings for casting aspersions on the bettor without evidence and said the situation did not meet the standard of an “obvious error.”
“An obvious error is a legal and factual impossibility,” O’Brien said. “This is an advantage that the patron took.”
She added that DraftKings’ internal failures — not the bettor’s conduct — created the situation.
“We need to seriously consider giving voice to the consumer and getting their half the story,” O’Brien said. “The compulsion to pay will in fact encourage compliance.”
Other commissioners echoed that view, emphasizing that it is the operator’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of its markets.
The commission noted that DraftKings acknowledged the root cause was internal — a configuration failure within its own trading tools — and not the result of a third-party odds provider or external data feed.
Upon discovering the error, DraftKings pulled the affected markets, left the wagers unsettled pending regulatory guidance and implemented corrective fixes.
The company said no other Massachusetts customers were impacted, though the same issue appeared in two other jurisdictions.
The Post has sought comment from DraftKings.
Massachusetts
Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment
SPRINGFIELD — With just days left before the Dec. 23 deadline, state and local leaders are urging uninsured residents to enroll in health coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector to ensure they’re protected in the new year. The cutoff applies to anyone who wants coverage starting Jan. 1.
The Health Connector — the state’s official health insurance marketplace — is the only place residents can access financial assistance and avoid misleading “junk” policies that often appear in online searches, according to a statement from the agency.
Officials say the enrollment period is especially critical for people without job-based insurance, gig workers, newcomers to the state and anyone seeking affordable, comprehensive health plans.
At a press conference Wednesday at Caring Health Center’s Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in Springfield, health leaders emphasized that most people who sign up through the Connector qualify for help paying premiums through its ConnectorCare program.
Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the state has spent nearly two decades committed to ensuring access to health care and offering the most affordable coverage possible for everyone.
”And despite the federal challenges, we continue to do everything we can to offer coverage to everyone who needs it. Now is the time for people who don’t have coverage to come in, apply, and find out what kind of plan for which they qualify,” she said.
Open enrollment also gives current members a chance to review their coverage, compare options and make changes.
Recent changes in federal policy have caused shifts in coverage and higher premiums for many Massachusetts residents, creating uncertainty and concern, said Cristina Huebner Torres, chief executive vice president and strategy and research officer at Caring Health Center.
“During times like these, trusted, local support becomes even more essential, and our Navigators have been on the very front lines, helping residents understand their options, maintain coverage, and navigate a complex and evolving system,” Huebner Torres said.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash
SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.
The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.
Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.
The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.
Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.
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