By Husna Muhdhar,
The International Rugby League (IRL) has barred transgender players from playing in women’s international rugby league matches.
The ban comes to effect while the IRL does more research to “obtain data to inform a future transwomen inclusion policy in 2023.”
Meanwhile, trans athletes will be unable to take part in this weekend’s Test matches or at the Women’s Rugby League World Cup later this year, in England.
“It is the IRL’s responsibility to balance the individual’s right to participate – a long-standing principle of rugby league and at its heart from the day it was established – against perceived risk to other participants, and to ensure all are given a fair hearing,” the organization said.
“The IRL will continue to work towards developing a set of criteria, based on best possible evidence, which fairly balance the individual’s right to play with the safety of all participants,” its statement added.
The sport’s governing body said it wanted to “balance the individual’s right to participate… against perceived risk to other participants”.
The move comes at a time when a lot of sports are debating whether or not to include trans athletes.
Transgender swimmers who have gone through male puberty were barred from competing in women’s elite races on Sunday.
According to the BBC, World Athletics Head Lord Coe hinted that the sport may follow swimming’s lead, indicating that the sport is due to explore adopting a new eligibility criterion and insisting that “fairness is non-negotiable.”
In recent months, a number of sports have reconsidered their inclusion policy, especially after the International Olympic Committee ruled earlier this year that transgender athlete participation standards should be determined by each sport, based on its unique qualities.
The IRL said that it would collaborate with the nations competing in the 2023 Women’s Rugby League World Cup to collect data for a transgender policy.
Critics of transgender athletes participating in several women’s sports believe that their birth biology gives them an unfair advantage over their counterparts. Many transgender athletes and their supporters, however, vehemently disagree with this assertion.
Swimming’s recent action has reignited the debate. Transgender rights organizations lambasted the move, while US women’s football captain Megan Rapinoe, one of the most powerful voices in sports, called it “disgusting.”
“Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title. I’m sorry, it’s just not happening,” Rapinoe told Time magazine.
“I have confidence that we can figure it out. But we can’t start at the opposite. That is cruel. And frankly, it’s just disgusting. We’re putting everything through ‘God forbid a trans person be successful in sports.’ Get a grip on reality and take a step back,” she said.
