The AFL has told transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey she is not eligible to be selected at Wednesday’s AFL Women’s draft.
The league have announced the landmark ruling less than 24 hours before the national selection meeting is set to take place in Melbourne.
Having previously played for the Australian men’s handball team, Mouncey began a gender transition in 2015 and played eight games for Ainslie this season in the Canberra women’s competition.
The AFL has today ruled on the 2018 AFLW draft eligibility of Canberra player Hannah Mouncey.
A subcommittee comprising of AFL Commissioners Jason Ball, Gabrielle Trainor and Major General Simone Wilkie, AFL General Manager Inclusion and Social Policy, Tanya Hosch and AFL General Counsel and General Manager Game Development, Andrew Dillon, reviewed the nomination.
The process included consultation with Ms Mouncey, her management, the AFLPA, the Australian Sports Commission and Pride in Sport.
The AFL has also been guided by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s guidelines ‘Trans and gender diverse inclusion is sport – complying with the Equal Opportunity Act 2010’.
The subcommittee carefully considered all of the information provided by Hannah, as well as the available data on transgender strength, stamina, physique along with the specific nature of the AFLW competition.
A provisional decision was made and communicated to Ms Mouncey and the AFLPA.
Further information was submitted by Ms Mouncey on Monday (16th October) in response to the AFL’s provisional decision. These submissions were reviewed by the subcommittee and it determined that Ms Mouncey’s nomination cannot be accepted for the 2018 AFLW draft.
The subcommittee’s decision took into account the stage of maturity of the AFLW competition, its current player cohort and Ms Mouncey’s individual circumstances.
This decision solely relates to Ms Mouncey’s nomination for the 2018 AFLW draft and participation in the 2018 AFLW competition.
Ms Mouncey may nominate for future AFLW drafts and for registration in other Australian Football competitions.
AFL General Manager, Inclusion and Social Policy, Tanya Hosch thanked Ms Mouncey for her understanding and positive engagement throughout the process.
“Hannah’s passion for football is undeniable, and I want to thank her and her team for their constructive participation in the decision-making process.”
“It was important to involve the right stakeholders to review all the information and data available. Every case will be decided on its own merits along with the individual circumstances of each future nominee,” Hosch says.
“We acknowledge Hannah’s openness and co-operation. She has contributed to a process which will substantially inform the development of the AFL’s transgender policy and procedure for future players at the elite level.”
“The AFL has made very strong commitments to equality and inclusion at all levels of the game. We recognise that participating in sport has physical, psychological and social benefits and we are committed to making Australian football on every level welcoming to all in our community.”
The AFL Players’ Association has been assisting Hannah Mouncey through the draft nomination process and we will continue to support her from both legal and wellbeing perspectives.
The matter of AFLW draft eligibility for transgender athletes is complex and the AFL’s decision has the potential to impact members and prospective members of the AFLPA now and into the future.
Whilst Hannah was provided with the opportunity to discuss her application with the AFL, the AFLPA believes there should have been clear guidelines available for transgender players wishing to enter the AFLW draft this year.
No athlete should face such confusion around their eligibility for an elite competition just days out from a draft.
We have urged the AFL to prioritise the development of guidelines detailing the process and parameters for entry into the AFLW competition, so that Hannah and any other players have a clear understanding of their eligibility.
Nick
Guest
Wow - you know everything
Nick
Guest
Me too Tom - Or should the lads that just missed out on a draft grab a spot as they transition
Jacko
Guest
It looks like the IOC has made the right calls then
Jacko
Guest
But you of course "Know it all" And get off my rock
DeanM
Guest
Transgender male to female athletes have a physical advantage. Men tend to have more fast-twitch muscles than woman. Men also tend to have larger internal organs. Larger lungs and heart result in more oxygen uptake. The more oxygen you can take in, the more that can be transported to your muscles. VO2max measures an athlete’s maximum oxygen uptake. It’s higher in men than it is in women, even for men and women that have the same body mass and equivalent lean muscle mass. Biologically, men have a higher VO2max, all other things being equal. As a result, men also tend to have a higher concentration of hemoglobin in their blood than women do. For athletes, that’s an advantage. This is why doping with EPO, a protein that increases your oxygen-carrying hemoglobin, is illegal in sports. A runner who is born male, therefore, has an advantage over most female athletes wanting to run a clean race. All these advantages are not removed by simply taking some medication. It's political correctness gone mad that has created a situation where many people commenting here honestly believe it is fair for a transgender male to compete against women. The AFL has made the right call. With the above mentioned facts it really is no longer up for discussion or debate, it will simply be worthless opinion.
Blue
Guest
Anybody can nominate for the AFL draft. Quite naturally nobody ever thought to rule on the matter.
Cat
Roar Guru
Says someone who has no bloody clue. Go back to the rock you crawled out from.
Cat
Roar Guru
Prior to treatment.
Cat
Roar Guru
Has Sarah Perkins hurt anyone? She is only 5kg lighter. Of course someone could get hurt, but so could two girls identical in size and weight.
Cat
Roar Guru
Can you provide proof of even one? The only one that has come out is as flummoxed by the AFL's decision as I am.
Tricky
Guest
Are you saying it won't happen? Of course it's dangerous she's a masculine 100kg vs most of them around the 60 to 70kg athletic feminine type
Blue
Guest
Good point. Women's leagues should be safe places for women to play. Germaine Greer has is right - there is much more to being a woman than chemical and physical changes to man. The AFLW has it right, the lower leagues should follow suit.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
But that's merely your assertion, not a supported fact.
Tricky
Guest
Re read my post I clearly stated that the other comp she has already played in would have other competitors not completely happy playing against her
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
You are certainly right there are. But there are some male athletes naturally more powerful than others too. That's life. But we are talking about a decision (not to identify as female - but to actually make the call to transition) that moves you to elite level in your gender. That being said the amount of bigoted vitriol that has been spewed by small minded people over this is absolutely disgusting.
Jacko
Guest
imagine when AFL and WAFL have equal pay, how many men will take a few pills to be superstars in the WAFL. Its only the taking of the pills that makes the difference as a man who has an accident and loses some private parts still is a man.....except when they take pills and call themselves a woman
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I think to say "it's a poor decision from the AFL, plain and simple" is very one sided. There's plenty of reasons to say that it's not the right decision. But there's also the fact that she still carries over some physical characteristics which made her an Olympian as a male. If she chose to legally fight the decision, I'd probably support that. But it's hardly a clear and easy decision to make when we are talking about somebody who was born a male, but fits into the top % of physical specimen in the female competition.
Jacko
Guest
Added to that the fact that He/She has represented Australia as an elite male athelete makes it less clear as well
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah fair points. I'll freely admit that I just assumed it was engrained in the rules that you'd have to be male! I've tried looking it up, but I can't find an official rule or anything. Regardless, I'm 99.9% sure that if she tried to apply for the AFL draft in November she'd be rejected; probably because she identifies as (and is) a female.
terrence
Guest
Everyone calm down. The AFL will soon announce the formation of the AFL Transgender and Intersex (AFLT&I) competition that will run in December/January each year, which will fit in perfectly between the end of the Melbourne Spring Carnival and the start of the AFLW competitions. The AFLT&I aims to start with six teams, with one team based in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart, and in a first for the AFL, teams not based in Australia, with one team based in Bangkok and another in the Philippines. An AFL spokesperson said as the majority of players will be drafted from Thailand and the Philippines, it was only fair that teams were located there, so players drafted to Australian based clubs can head home for a visit mid-season. A draft and medicals will take place on Oaks day, so teams have 4 weeks to prepare for the first games on the first weekend in December. The AFL spokesperson said this was great for AFL viewers, with the AFLT&I running into the AFLW that runs into the AFL?, that's seamless AFL viewing from December to early October, where we can break for a couple of months to focus on the Spring Carnival.