Australian transgender football player Hannah Mouncey (right) on the pitch in May. (Photo: Facebook)
Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey announced on Sunday (9 September) she will be dropping out of the draft for the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW).
The 28-year-old said self-reporting blood testing had taken ‘an enormous toll’ on Twitter.
‘Essentially, the toll of doing this on my own has ended up being far too great’, she wrote.
Last year, Mouncey was denied permission to enter the AFLW draft. The governing body of the sport, the Australian Football League, ruled Mouncey’s testosterone levels made her ineligible to play in the women’s leagues.
But the AFL in February ruled that Mouncey would be able to play in any state leagues that fall under the AFL umbrella.
Under AFL guidelines, trans or non-binary athletes must submit medical records to show testosterone levels below a certain level for 24 months. They must also submit a range of other athletic data.
‘The AFL has treated me like shit’, she said. ‘With every effort made to wear me down to a point where I couldn’t continue’.
Please follow the next few posts, I won’t be commenting further on it at this stage pic.twitter.com/rUY2iSeC8k
— Hannah Mouncey 🤾♀️ (@HannahMouncey) September 9, 2018
Mouncey also shared a number of documents to prove her eligibility to play.
Walk the walk
Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ spokesperson, slammed AFL for failing to protect LGBTI equality.
‘Hannah Mouncey’s experience shows when push comes to shove, they’re not prepared to walk the walk’, said Rice in a statement released Monday (10 September).
‘The discrimination Hannah has faced through this whole ordeal is indicative of an organisation struggling with fear and ignorance’, the senator also said.
In June, Mouncey challenged AFL to formulate a policy on transgender players. She threatened to complain to Australia’s Human Rights Commission.
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