Add Category
Updated
Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey has withdrawn from the AFLW draft, accusing the AFL of treating her poorly and putting its "corporate image" above all other considerations.
- Mouncey says she was withdawing despite meeting the league's conditions
- She says nominating for the draft took too great a toll on her and her loved ones
- The AFL last week released its policy on gender diversity
Mouncey made headlines in 2017 when the AFL ruled she was ineligible for selection in the 2018 AFLW draft.
She has been playing for Darebin Falcons in the VFL Women's competition and had nominated for the 2019 AFLW draft.
But in a Twitter post Mouncey said she had decided to withdraw from the draft, despite meeting the league's medical conditions.
"The AFL has treated me like shit, with every effort made to wear me down to a point where I couldn't continue," she said.
"Eventually what has gone on behind the scenes will come out, and it paints a sad picture of an organisation with no leadership, who cares only for its corporate image above all else."
The AFL last month released its gender diversity policy, which prescribes maximum testosterone levels for trans or non-binary people who wish play in the AFLW competition.
In her Twitter post, Mouncey included documents which she said showed she met the AFL's medical requirements, including blood tests over a period of more than two years which showed her testosterone levels were below the maximum level prescribed by the league for AFLW players.
"To do otherwise, I would have risked constant speculation about that, and possibly being labelled a cheat for being above, which is not something I can live with," Mouncey said.
"Essentially, the toll of doing this on my own has ended up being far too great," she said.
"There are a number of things I can't risk by continuing this fight, which are far more important than football.
"The toll this has taken on the people I care about is enormous, as has the toll it's taken on me.
"I'm not ok with allowing that to continue.
"I'm comfortable in the fact that given the chance, I would have done well at the next level.
"I know I can do it, but it's not worth what it's currently costing."
An AFL spokesman said it had no comment, as the deadline for players to lodge applications for the draft was not until the end of the week.
Topics: sport, australian-football-league, victorian-football-league-vfl, community-and-society, vic, melbourne-3000
First posted