Hannah Mouncey could take AFL to the Human Rights Commission
Image: Photo: Twitter / Hannah Mouncey.
Footballer Hannah Mouncey could take her issues with the AFL to the Human Rights Commission, if the league does not promptly create a policy for trans inclusion.
Mouncey was last year blocked from the AFL women’s draft, after looking set to become its first trans player.
She has since been cleared to play at the state level, and has joined the Darebin Falcons.
The AFL has now advised Mouncey that it might have a policy in place to judge her case by the end of this September, the Herald Sun has reported.
This year’s draft is expected to take place in mid-October, meaning Mouncey may have just weeks to make her case to the AFL for inclusion.
Despite frequently raised concerns, Mouncey’s hormone levels are well within the internationally prescribed limits for female elite athletes.
Concerns about Mouncey being too strong to safely play have not come to pass, with no safety incidents in five games with Darebin.
She has told the league that if a trans policy is not in place by the end of next month she will take the matter to the Human Rights Commission, saying she has been discriminated against.
“I have told [the AFL] that if they don’t have something by the end of July I will take it to the Human Rights Commission at the very least,” she said.
“I am happy to avoid that, but that’s where it’s at at this stage.
“They have had 12 months or more to work on it, but I have barely been able to get in touch with the AFL.
“I haven’t really been able to get in touch with anyone since December.”
The league committed in February to reviewing its policies, and has recently begun work on it.
The Australian Sports Commission and Australian Human Rights Commission are also working towards a trans framework, with Mouncey among the consultants contributing.
I support this. Let’s apply a legal test to this situation. The naysayers love to come out whining about trans women with UP TO 10 times the amount of testosterone as SOME female athletes but let’s see how these claims stack up against Hannah having similar levels to various cis female athletes. Yes she’s tall and broad but so are many cis women. Hannah is a good but not necessarily great female athlete despite growing up male and athletic due to her hormone treatment.
The bottom line from my perspective is that some folks are just more destined than the average to be sportspeople. If we were ever going to ban someone for being exceptional it would have been a certain Jamaican 100m champ who was great for simply being Usain Bolt. Hannah Mouncey is a good-but-not-great WAFL player with far more limited earnings and fame potential, just back off.
It’s not just hormone levels though, is it?
This person had, for most of his life, the bone, tendon, and muscle growth of a structurally male phenotype (and genotype). To reduce this to simple testosterone level is willful ignorance.
If I’m being ignorant it’s not wilfully so. I haven’t researched it too thoroughly but my understanding is that Hannah’s strength is considerably reduced compared to what it was before her transition.
If bone growth is an issue are you suggesting banning all tall cis women? Thought not. So what’s your point? If muscle strength is unchanged by hormone treatment why is Hannah not an incredibly dominant WAFL player, as one would expect of a former top male athlete?
My point is that I think it’s entirely appropriate for a court (which will be less ignorant than I might be) to examine the specifics and form a legal test which might apply to future applicants. Let’s get this out of the court of public opinion, with its frequently repeated bs about trans athletes having much more testosterone than their cis female counterparts.
And if you’re too rude to simply respect Hannah enough to refer to her using the pronoun “her” and not “his” you need to take, in sporting parlance, a long hard look at yourself. My ignorance about the specific impacts of hormone treatment on muscle strength is admitted, but likewise you need to admit you’re transphobic if you can’t even change a pronoun to match reality.