Education
“We are concerned that this rise is a backlash to the growing visibility and popularity of the television series Heated Rivalry,” Lawyers for Civil Rights said.
A Boston-based civil rights group is calling on Attorney General Andrea Campbell to do more to address a reported uptick in LGBTQ-related bullying in school sports, particularly hockey.
Lawyers for Civil Rights said it has seen a “noticeable spike” recently of reported bullying and harassment in school-affiliated hockey programs, “especially conduct that targets students who are gay or perceived to be gay.”
“We are concerned that this rise is a backlash to the growing visibility and popularity of the television series Heated Rivalry — and the resulting attention, commentary, and social media discourse it has generated around gay hockey players,” the nonprofit wrote in Tuesday’s letter.
According to Lawyers for Civil Rights, public high school athletes have made an “alarming” number of complaints in recent weeks regarding homophobic comments and conduct by hockey coaches and fellow players. These incidents included slurs, locker room intimidation, admonitions not to “play like they are gay,” and references to having a “d**k in their a**” while playing defense, Lawyers for Civil Rights alleged.
“LCR is also receiving reports that students who are gay — or perceived as gay — are being intentionally benched during games, denied meaningful playing time without legitimate athletic justification, and otherwise isolated from team events and bonding activities,” the nonprofit said.
The letter urges Campbell to take immediate action to combat identity-based bullying, harassment, and exclusion in school sports, “particularly within hockey programs where locker room culture can intensify harm.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights also took aim at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which serves more than 200,000 student-athletes statewide. The Attorney General’s Office must ensure the MIAA “does not abdicate its responsibility to investigate, remedy, and prevent identity-based harassment in school sports,” Lawyers for Civil Rights urged.
In its letter to Campbell, the nonprofit alleged the MIAA “undoubtedly has the authority and institutional structures to adjudicate and punish discriminatory conduct by coaches, team members, and fans, but chooses not to exercise them.” Lawyers for Civil Rights is actively suing the MIAA for records on incidents of discrimination, harassment, and bullying at sporting events.
Neither Campbell’s office nor the MIAA responded to requests for comment.
In 2023, The Boston Globe reported the MIAA had received 50 reports involving discrimination, harassment, or bullying since it began requiring its 380 member schools to file discriminatory incident reports in late 2021. Among those reports were six incidents involving players who were targeted with homophobic slurs.
The year prior, then-Attorney General Maura Healey’s office found that Danvers school officials failed to address a yearslong “toxic team culture” on the high school varsity hockey team amid allegations of “hazing rituals that involved racist, homophobic, and physically and sexually abusive behavior.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights urged Campbell to make sure schools take decisive action if and when discrimination occurs.
“Students should never have to risk humiliation or retaliation just to participate in school sports,” LCR Senior Attorney Jillian Lenson said in a statement.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
