Female footballers say the AFL’s open policy allowing transgender players to compete at a community level is putting women’s safety at risk and trashing fairness.
Call for 'inclusive' or 'open' leagues at community-level AFL due to safety fears for older female competitors dropping out due to more trans players joining
The policy imposes strict testosterone and physical testing requirements on trans players designed to dispel perceptions of physical advantages over women. Jill Chalmers spent many “years, sweat and tears” establishing a masters league for women who had missed out playing Aussie rules football because there were no options for them growing up.Now, Ms Chalmers is troubled to see female players self-excluding and dropping out from the competition due to fears over safety and fairness, as more trans players join the game.
“We want to be included, but we just think the AFL needs to consider another avenue because the gap between their physical ability and ours is quite significant,” Ms Chalmers said. The document also calls it a “myth” that “transgender players are a safety risk on the field” and tells players to “ask about and use preferred names and pronouns”.The 52-year-old, known as Mini to her teammates due to her petite stature, saw her brother Al - then a promising 16-year-old footy player – spend six months in a coma and left with permanent brain damage after suffering a hit to the side of the head during a game.
“Community football is where we can play, but we don’t get a fair competition. That doesn’t seem right to me.” Sky News spoke to several other concerned players, coaches and families involved in community-level women’s AFL who asked not to be identified out of fear of repercussions, including being labelled bigots.
“Forcing women to compete against male athletes with all the physical advantages male puberty brings is patently unfair,” Ms Wong said.
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