Five transgender women recently helped lead a team to victory in a women’s soccer tournament in Australia, claiming a $1,000 prize in the process. And one politician is not at all happy about it.
According to a report from The Daily Mail Australia, Flying Bats FC included five transgender women on their team as they dominated the competition at the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup tournament in Sydney, Australia. The team won most games by a lopsided score with one of the transgender players scoring six goals in one game.
After the tournament, Libertarian Party Member of Parliament John Ruddick called out the North West Sydney League for allowing transgender women to participate in women’s league, citing concerns about both fairness and safety.
“It’s not just a question of fair sportsmanship,” Mr Ruddick said according to The Daily Mail Australia. “It’s also a question of physical safety for female players born female.”
Flying Bats FC is proud of its inclusivity, calling itself “the biggest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world,” according to the team’s website.
Over the past several months, the debate regarding whether or not transgender women should be permitted to compete in women’s sports has become one of the hottest issues in politics across the world. And this incident is going to add fuel to that debate.
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