A transgender athlete was recently banned from competing in the Australian Women’s National Basketball League. The semi-professional basketball league ruled the individual would not be allowed to compete against biological females.
Fox News reported:
Basketball Australia, the governing body for the sport in the country, ruled that Lexi Rodgers is ineligible to compete in elite or sub-elite basketball, including for the Kilsyth Cobras. The Cobras play in NBL1 South, which serves as a lower-tier league below the National Basketball League (NBL) and Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
In a press release, Basketball Australia director Suzy Batkovic said, “Firstly, on behalf of Basketball Australia I’d like to acknowledge and sincerely thank Lexi for her cooperation, understanding and patience throughout this process – it’s a complex space that continues to evolve.”
She continued, “While Lexi is understandably disappointed with the outcome, I know she’ll continue to support her NBL1 South team throughout the season and be an active member of the basketball community. As we continue to develop the framework for sub-elite and elite competitions, we understand the need to have a clear process and continual education within all layers of the sport so we can best support players, coaches, clubs, associations and the wider basketball community.”
“I also want to make it clear because it’s important, that while this particular application was not approved based on criteria for elite (or sub-elite) competition, Basketball Australia encourages and promotes inclusivity at community level where the balance of physical activity, health and wellbeing and social benefits can outweigh the competitive nature of sport,” Batkovic stated.
Recently there have been other bans from sporting associations, barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. Last month, the World Athletics Council enacted a ban, preventing “male to female” athletes from competing in women’s ranked events. The American Tribune reported:
Recently the World Athletics Council announced it would not allow transgender athletes to compete against females in World Rankings competitions. The measure will be in effect next week, where “male to female” transgender athletes won’t be able to compete against their female counterparts.
Similarly, World Aquatics issued a ban prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s swimming competitions last summer. “We have to protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we also have to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at FINA competitions,” FINA’s president, Husain Al-Musallam, said in a statement. The policy states transgender athletes must prove that “they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later.” The policy also states, “Without eligibility standards based on biological sex or sex-linked traits, we are very unlikely to see biological females in finals, on podiums, or in championship positions; and in sports and events involving collisions and projectiles, biological female athletes would be at greater risk of injury.”
Different sports worldwide continue to protect women’s athletics by preventing biological men from competing against women. It will be interesting to see what other sports follow with similar bans and how the woke left responds.
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