• UK
  • World
    • USA
  • Entertainment
    • Celeb
    • Showbiz
    • Magazine
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Science
    • Education
  • Insurance
  • Business
  • Auto
  • ToS/Contact
    • ToS
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
NewsExplored
  • UK
  • World
    • USA
  • Entertainment
    • Celeb
    • Showbiz
    • Magazine
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Science
    • Education
  • Insurance
  • Business
  • Auto
  • ToS/Contact
    • ToS
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • LinkedIn

  • Tumblr

  • RSS

Sports

‘I fear losing rugby as a community’: Trans player on World Rugby proposal

‘I fear losing rugby as a community’: Trans player on World Rugby proposal
Newsexplored
7th August 2020
7
SHARES
ShareTweet
SubscribeRedditGoogleWhatsappStumbleuponPinterestDiggLinkedinTumblrTelegram
Views:
10

Twelve months into her gender transition, Grace McKenzie was recruited out of the blue to join the Golden Gate Women’s rugby club in San Francisco.

McKenzie says playing rugby has given her a platform to “just focus on living and enjoying myself” – but a new proposal to ban trans women from women’s contact rugby could bring that to an end.

‘It makes you question if you have a place’

“There’s a lot of rhetoric out there about where trans people fit into sports overall, and it really makes you question whether you have a place, especially as a trans woman playing women’s sports,” McKenzie told BBC Sport.

“I was really certain that team sports were out of the question for me until rugby found me.”

McKenzie, 26, had never picked up a rugby ball before until she was approached at a tech conference, but was soon hooked and says that for the first time in a long time, felt that she belonged. As she embarked on this new stage of her life, the club also provided a safe space from transphobia.

“It’s very taxing to go through that on a daily basis – you begin to live in anticipation and fear of the sorts of things happening,” she said.

“Whereas in rugby, especially when I’m on the field, those things go away. I get to forget about that for a least a short amount of time.”

‘Fear of losing rugby as a community’

Transgender participation in women’s sport is a complex and divisive issue, and McKenzie fears being excluded from competition

World Rugby is considering a proposal to ban transgender athletes from women’s contact rugby due to safety concerns that they say have emerged from recent independent research, claiming there was likely to be “at least a 20-30% greater risk” of injury when a female player is tackled by someone who has gone through male puberty.

Its current rules allow trans women to play as long as they suppress their testosterone levels for at least 12 months, in line with International Olympic Committee policy.

But the governing body has undertaken a “comprehensive review” of that policy, telling BBC Sport in a statement that it was not working.

data-ad-format="auto">

“The latest peer-reviewed research confirms that a reduction of testosterone does not lead to a proportionate reduction in mass, muscle mass, strength or power,” said the statement.

“These important determinants of injury risk and performance remain significantly elevated after testosterone suppression.

“This presents a clear safety risk when transgender women play women’s contact rugby.”

The draft proposals have been welcomed by some women’s groups who insist women’s sport needs to be protected, and regard the move by World Rugby as a “trailblazing” approach towards the sensitive issue of trans inclusion.


Dr Nicola Williams of women’s rights advocacy group Fair Play for Women attended World Rugby’s transgender workshop in February and has “commended” the governing body for its “bravery and integrity” in tackling the issue.

But Loughborough University medical physicist and trans woman Joanna Harper, who also attended the workshop, did not agree with “an outright ban”.

Trans athletes have also expressed concern, and activists like McKenzie have described it as “a gut punch”.

“I think the fear of losing rugby as a community and supportive space has been weighing on me quite heavily,” said McKenzie. “There isn’t a moment I don’t worry about losing that access.”

If World Rugby’s proposal is upheld, it would be the first international sports federation to prohibit trans women from competing in women’s sport.

Golden Gate Women's rugby club in San Francisco
Golden Gate Women’s rugby club in San Francisco

What happens next?

A host of other sports organisations also are known to be reviewing their transgender policies and McKenzie fears a ripple effect that would negatively affect trans athletes.

“I worry that other sporting federations will look at World Rugby and begin to second-guess the existing science that supports trans women’s inclusion in sport, and begin to make policies based out of a place of fear instead of a place of logic and reason,” said McKenzie.

World Rugby says it is committed to ensuring trans people remain involved with rugby, will continue “to explore appropriate participation pathways for transgender athletes” and is “funding further research into the safe participation of all players in rugby”.

Non-contact rugby would remain open to all, while the draft proposals recommend that trans men should be allowed to play men’s rugby, provided they have signed a consent form.

McKenzie says it is a “very convenient way to appear to be keeping the sport open” while keeping trans women separate.

“I don’t feel that trans people deserve to just get the leftovers when it comes to these sorts of things,” she added. “I want to be able to participate fully with my team and in the sport that I love.

“I think that there is still a path forward to allow us to do that.”

McKenzie has started a petition to get World Rugby to reconsider, which has gathered 15,000 signatures in two weeks.

The draft proposals are currently out for review and a decision is expected to be made when unions vote at a World Rugby Council meeting in November.

It’s understood that World Rugby would allow individual unions to adapt the guidance to suit local law and amend it at the community level of the game, should they wish to do so.

“I would ask them to think about what it would be like to have something that you love, cared about and that brought meaning and happiness into your life taken away from you, and you had been told that that you weren’t able to access that based on who you are as a person,” said McKenzie.

“Hopefully there is a chance to empathise with our cause and understand what that would be like.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Related

Related Itemscommunitylosingplayerrugbytransworld
Sports
7th August 2020
Newsexplored @newsexploredweb

Related Itemscommunitylosingplayerrugbytransworld

More in Sports

  • Read More
    Sri Lanka v England: Tourists wobble chasing 74 after Jack Leach takes 5-122

    Views:10 Dom Sibley scored six runs in the match First Test, Galle (day four) Sri Lanka 135...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    #icare: Elinor Snowsill speaks out about trolling of women’s rugby players

    Views:10 Elinor Snowsill plays fly-half for Wales and Bristol Bears It has been a tumultuous week for...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Australia v India: Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar lead fightback in Brisbane

    Views:10 Sundar is making his Test debut at the age of 21 and is playing in a...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Green Bay Packers beat Los Angeles Rams; Buffalo Bills overcome Baltimore Ravens

    Views:10 Aaron Rodgers is expected to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player this season after MVPs...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Masters snooker 2021: John Higgins to face Yan Bingtao in final

    Views:10 Dates: 10-17 January Venue: Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer,...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Leicester City 2-0 Southampton: James Maddison and Harvey Barnes send Foxes second

    Views:10 James Maddison celebrated his goal by adhering to new Covid-19 protocols Leicester City climbed to second...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Fulham 0-1 Chelsea: Mason Mount goal settles London derby

    Views:10 Mason Mount’s strike was Chelsea’s 800th away goal in the Premier League Mason Mount finally broke...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Leeds 0-1 Brighton: Neal Maupay’s goal ends Seagulls’ winless league run

    Views:10 Neal Maupay (far right) was left unmarked to tap in Brighton’s winner Brighton boosted their Premier...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Celtic 0-0 Livingston: Makeshift Celtic held at home

    Views:10 Jeremie Frimpong came close for Celtic in the first half Makeshift Celtic are still without victory...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Australian Open: Heather Watson among 47 players to quarantine in Melbourne after Covid cases on flights

    Views:10 Watson’s best performance at the Australian Open was a run to the third round in 2013...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    Wolves 2-3 West Brom: Matheus Pereira’s double secures Baggies win in Black Country derby

    Views:10 Matheus Pereira had not scored a Premier League goal since September before his double against Wolves...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
  • Read More
    England in Sri Lanka: Hosts exposed tourists’ weaknesses on day three – Michael Vaughan

    Views:10 England’s spinners managed just four maidens between them during day three Sri Lanka exposed England’s weaknesses...

    Newsexplored 7th August 2020
Scroll for more
Tap
data-ad-format="auto">
NewsExplored

NewsExplored - Making sure all the latest news is explored?

Contact us for help

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • Comments

  • Trump pardons two convicted by Russia investigation
    USA23rd December 2020
  • New coronavirus variant: What do we know?
    UK20th December 2020
  • Kieran Trippier suspended for 10 weeks over breaches of betting rules
    Sports23rd December 2020
  • The Papers: UK and EU on ‘verge’ of Brexit trade deal
    UK23rd December 2020
  • Trump impeachment: When will he go on trial in the Senate?
    USA16th January 2021
  • Joe Biden unveils $1.9tn US economic relief package
    USA15th January 2021
  • How much can Joe Biden get done on the US economy?
    USA14th January 2021
  • Could Liz Cheney spark a revolt?
    USA13th January 2021
  • Les Rehrer says:

    Hello Its me :P and thanks for this post

  • optumrx login says:

    Thank For News.

  • Kent Laatsch says:

    Please let me know if you're looking for a writer…

  • Bob says:

    RT News was where I learned that Erdogan controlled isis.…

Copyright © 2018 Top News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by Wordpress.

US PGA Championship: Tiger Woods hits lowest opening round in major since 2012
World Snooker Championship: The Crucible without fans – surreal but still magical
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok