A Massachusetts-based LGBTQ advocacy group is warning of a reported surge of anti-LGBTQ harassment in local high school sports, particularly hockey teams.
In a March 3 open letter to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, the group, Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston (LCR), warned that identity-based bullying of LGBTQ youth remains a problem on some high school sports teams. The letter says the behavior is exacerbated by “team hierarchies, locker room culture, and competitive dynamics.”
LCR said reports of bullying and harassment targeting youth who are gay or perceived to be gay have spiked within school hockey programs, which the group believes may be connected to the popularity of Heated Rivalry, an HBO series about a romance between two closeted gay athletes.
“These incidents frequently involve homophobic slurs, locker room intimidation, team-based hazing, and harassment connected to hockey teams,” the group wrote.
Examples of the alleged harassment — occurring both on and off the ice — include homophobic comments from coaches and peers, including direct statements using graphic or sexualized language, such as admonishments to athletes not to “play like they are gay” and references to “dick in their ass” when discussing defensive play.
LCR said targeted students are intentionally benched during games, denied meaningful playing time without athletic justification, and isolated from teammates by being excluded from team events and bonding activities. Students may also fear retaliation if they complain about their treatment, the group claims.
The organization further alleges that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), the governing body of high school sports in the commonwealth, is “undermining” state-level civil rights protections by asserting that it “lacks the authority” to investigate and remedy incidents of anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment.
“Given that MIAA routinely enforces rules such as the length and type of penalties for fighting during a hockey game, racist or homophobic actions and comments must also justify penalties when they occur,” the group said in its letter. “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.”
LCR noted that it is currently engaged in active litigation against the MIAA and urged Campbell’s office to investigate patterns of anti-LGBTQ harassment in high school hockey programs, clarify schools’ obligations under civil rights laws to “investigate, remedy, and prevent” such incidents, and hold institutions accountable.
Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director of LCR, told WPRI that the reports came directly from parents of affected students, including one family that came forward after seeing the group’s public statement about harassment linked to Heated Rivalry. He declined to identify specific schools, teams, or individuals involved, citing concerns about singling out or “outing” victims.
Campbell told WPRI that her office thoroughly investigates all reports of bullying and harassment.
“Homophobia and hate of any kind has no place in our locker rooms, ice rinks, or playing fields, and I am committed to ensuring that all young people feel safe and supported in their classrooms and on their sports teams,” Campbell said in a statement.
Campbell noted that her office previously launched a statewide initiative providing regional trainings on preventing and addressing hate and bias in school sports, with about 200 school districts participating. Follow-up trainings continue to be offered, she said, and her office has released updated guidance to schools while encouraging anyone experiencing bias-motivated harassment or bullying to file a complaint.
In 2022, Campbell’s predecessor, then-Attorney General Maura Healey, found that the Danvers Public School District had failed to address a years-long “toxic team culture” on the Danvers High School varsity hockey team, where players were allegedly subjected to “hazing rituals that involved racist, homophobic, and physically and sexually abusive behavior,” according to Boston.com at the time.
Healey’s office concluded its investigation — launched after a Boston Globe exposé — by reaching a resolution requiring the district to review and update its anti-harassment policies, implement staff training and student programming on responding to such incidents, and notify the Attorney General’s office of any bias-motivated misconduct.
