Feds Investigating Franklin-based MIAA

Alan Earls Editor

Above, a 2023 demonstration at MIAA in Franklin (file photo)

Massachusetts high school athletics policies are under investigation for "Title IX violations" by the U.S. Department of Education, the agency announced Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump issued an order aimed at transgender athletes.

DOE said it was launching "directed investigations" of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), San Jose State University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Craig Trainor, DOE's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said the probes would feature "swift action" and were in line with Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order.

The agency linked to a year-old Daily Mail story about a girls' basketball game between KIPP Academy and Collegiate Charter School of Lowell.

"A girls' high school basketball team in Massachusetts forfeited a game after a male playing for the opposing female team reportedly injured three female players," DOE said. "The [MIAA]'s handbook states that a 'student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student's bona fide gender identity.'"

Trainor said in a statement that the Biden administration had "trampled the rights of American women and girls ... to promote a radical transgender ideology."

An MIAA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Separately, MIAA provided the following statement to Franklin Observer:
"The MIAA has been notified of an investigation initiated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding an alleged violation of Title IX.
"The MIAA has historically complied with all applicable federal and state laws. We are currently seeking guidance from the Office of the Attorney General and our own legal counsel on our next step. We are especially interested in determining this investigation’s impact on teams currently playing the winter season and on our upcoming tournaments."