Riley Gaines reacts to a female field hockey player being injured by a male opponent during a high school match in Massachusetts

Women’s rights activist Riley Gaines has criticized a high school hockey game in Massachusetts that saw a female player getting injured by a male opponent. She also charged former Massachusetts governor and present NCAA president Charlie Blake for the unfortunate incident.

Gaines has been vocal about the safety rights of female athletes. She recently expressed her concerns about a female hockey player at the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School developing significant injuries. The young player faced dental and facial wounds after a ball struck by a male opponent hit her in the face.

The male player competed at the Dighton-Rehoboth vs Swampscott match on Thursday. His participation in the game was legally permitted under the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rules. It allows biologically male athletes to compete with females to promote “equal opportunity to play”.

Reacting to the events of the incident, Riley Gaines expressed her dejection on her X handle. She shared a video that showed the Swampscott athlete hitting the female player’s face. The injured player could be heard shrieking in pain in the short clip.

“It's reported that male player (#2 for Swampscott) knocked the teeth out of female player. Males are allowed to play on female teams in MA because of the "equal play act," Gaines wrote.

Furthermore, Riley Gaines called out Massachusetts resident and NCAA president Charlie Blake for allowing such an act:

"This is the town where NCAA president and past gov, Charlie Baker lives. Care to comment, @CharlieBakerMA ?" she added.

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Riley Gaines had an unpleasant experience at the 2022 NCAA swimming competition

Gaines (Image via USA Today)

In 2022, Riley Gaines represented the University of Kentucky at the NCAA Swim Championships. In that competition, she competed against trans woman Lia Thomas from the University of Pennsylvania for the first time.

Although both swimmers finished fifth in the 200m race, the organization felicitated Thomas. It disappointed Gaines immensely as she found it an exploitation of female sports opportunities.

Moreover, in that same competition, Gaines experienced a traumatic incident after she and her teammates were made to share the same locker room with trans woman Lia Thomas.

The girls were not informed about such a situation in the first place. Moreover, when they asked the NCAA to provide them with a separate changing room, the organization did not offer anything.

When the girls’ team began to change in the same locker room as Thomas, they felt extremely awkward. Later on, Gaines told the media that the trans woman swimmer deliberately exposed his male genitalia to them in the locker room.

After the incident, Riley Gaines has been passionately working to secure opportunities and security for female athletes.