Hannah Mouncey. | Photo: Twitter
A trans woman who was not allowed to play professional in the women’s league of Australian Rules Football (AFLW) has now been given the green light to play.
Last year Hannah Mouncey was denied permission to enter the AFLW draft. The governing body of the sport, the Australian Football League, ruled Mouncey’s testosterone levels ruled her ineligible to play in the women’s leagues.
But the AFL just ruled that Mouncey will be able to play in any state leagues that fall under the AFL umbrella.
Mouncey, was left homeless and unemployed after last year’s decision because she had packed up her life in the national capital Canberra, to move the southern city of Melbourne in anticipation of being drafted
The footballer issued a statement on Twitter and released a video on YouTube in response to the decision.
‘I welcome the AFL’s decision… and while I wholeheartedly thank those who have supported me during this time, I will not and think it highly inappropriate for me to thank the AFL for allowing me to do something open to every other Australian, which science and research has supported all along,’ Mouncey wrote on Twitter.
— Hannah Mouncey 🤾♀️ (@HannahMouncey) February 13, 2018
A national circus
She wrote that she had been through a ‘circus’ in the past four months which highlighted the little understanding around sport science and gender transitioning.
The footballer outlined the emotional toll it took on her and the amount of transphobic trolling she has received since her story was cast into the national spotlight. She has taken to publicly sharing the transphobic messages she receives on her Twitter account.
Mouncey said she was not surprised by the lack of understanding but was disappointed the AFL had disregarded expert opinions.
‘This seems to be the only area of medicine where people with no background in science, medicine or the relevant issues are more than willing to dismiss the advice of experts simply because it does not necessarily match what they were brought up to believe,’ she said.
Mouncey had lost a lot of friends during her four-month ordeal, but was looking forward to potentially playing AFL this year.
‘So while yes, it’s good to be able to play and is a good outlet and I love it, I and other trans people have much bigger things to worry about,’ she wrote.
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