Photo caption: Representatives from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) present the 2026 Distinguished Service Award to representatives from the Addressing Hate in School & Sport Initiative. Pictured, left to right: Karen Crebase, M.A.S.S. President; Mary Bourque, M.A.S.S. Executive Director; Rachelle Engler Bennett, Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Liza Hirsch, Director of the Children’s Justice Unit, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; Bob Baldwin, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Interscholastic Athletics (MIAA) and Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association (MSAA); Tom Scott, M.A.S.S. Director of Finance and Member Services.
M.A.S.S. recently presented the 2026 Distinguished Service Award to the statewide initiative “Addressing Hate in School & Sport.” At the M.A.S.S. Spring Meeting in Marlborough, M.A.S.S. President Karen Crebase presented the award to leaders of the organizations that founded and manage the initiative.
In recent years, schools and districts have experienced troubling incidents involving racist, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ+, and culturally-based hate speech. Beginning in 2021, a series of highly publicized incidents in school athletic programs prompted important conversations among M.A.S.S., the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association (MSAA), then-Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell. These discussions led to a statewide collaboration focused on proactively addressing hate and bias in schools and athletics.
Together, these organizations partnered with the Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society to develop and coordinate trainings and support programs for superintendents, principals, athletic directors, coaches, and student-athletes. The initiative was designed to strengthen leadership, teamwork, diversity, inclusion, and community connection through the powerful platform of school athletics.
Supported through significant funding from the Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the program has provided regional and district-based trainings involving both students and adults. To date, more than 160 school districts have participated, with the work expanding beyond athletics into school assemblies and broader school culture initiatives. The program will continue into the 2026-27 school year and will be available to any Massachusetts school district.
Now in its sixth year, “Addressing Hate in School & Sport” has helped districts respond thoughtfully and proactively to incidents of hate and bias while fostering healthier, more inclusive school and athletic cultures. Although challenges related to hate speech and bias continue to exist in society, this initiative has provided schools with meaningful tools and strategies to address these issues and promote respect, inclusion, and belonging throughout their communities.
M.A.S.S. is proud to recognize the “Addressing Hate in School & Sport” initiative and the organizations and individuals whose leadership and commitment have made this work possible. Accepting the Distinguished Service Award at the Spring Meeting were Rachelle Engler Bennett, Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts DESE; Liza Hirsch, Director of the Children’s Justice Unit, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; and Dr. Bob Baldwin, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Interscholastic Athletics (MIAA) and the Massachusetts School Administrators Association (MSAA). Representatives from the Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society were unable to attend.