LGBTQI+ support group Pride Cup has hit out at Basketball Australia's decision to reject transgender basketball player Lexi Rodgers's application to play at NBL1 level this season.
Rodgers, a trans woman, had applied to play in the lower-tier tournament with the Kilsyth Cobras, but a panel convened by Basketball Australia (BA) ruled against her participation.
Pride Cup, an organisation whose stated aim is to "challenge homophobia and transphobia within sporting clubs", said the ban sent a concerning message to the wider community.
"It tells trans and gender-diverse people that they should not excel at sport, they will be excluded if they're too good," Pride Cup chief executive Hayley Conway said in a statement.
"There are a huge range of physical traits and variations that give one player an edge over another, including height or hand-eye coordination. There are no definitive studies demonstrating a unique advantage held by trans athletes at the elite level."
"Sport should be for everyone."
A BA statement said the "eligibility of prospective elite level transgender athletes" was decided "on a case-by-case basis, accounting for and balancing a range of factors".
"As the governing body, we acknowledge we're still on a path of education and understanding. To aid us in developing our framework, Lexi will provide feedback and advice from her experiences," the statement read.
"The balance of inclusivity, fairness and the competitive nature of sport will always be a complex area to navigate, and we thank those involved who have maintained integrity and respect throughout the process."
The three-person panel was made up of BA chief medical officer Peter Harcourt, Olympian Suzy Batkovic and sport and exercise physician Diana Robinson.
Rodgers said she had participated fully and in good faith with the BA process and would keep pushing to play women's basketball.
Pride Cup said in its statement that only 6 per cent of LGBTI+ people participate in team sports due to a fear of discrimination.
Conway said in her statement that BA's decision "misses the mark".
"Our thoughts go out to Lexi at this time and we throw our full support behind all transgender athletes aspiring to excel in their chosen sports," Conway said.
"It's obvious that Basketball Australia are attempting to be as inclusive as possible but this decision misses the mark.
"The policy and process underpinning this decision should be made transparent.
"The Kilsyth Cobras should be commended for their approach to Rogers's inclusion and ensuring they can field the best possible team."
'I don't think my opinion is the one that matters': Cate Campbell
Australian swimmer Cate Campbell said transgender inclusion should come down to a case-by-case, sport-by-sport basis.
Speaking on Channel 9 on Wednesday, Campbell said she stood by swimming's decision to ban transgender athletes at the highest level.
World Aquatics' policy — which came after a report from a transgender taskforce comprising of leading medical, legal and sports figures — was passed with a roughly 71 per cent majority after it was put to the members of 152 national federations at an extraordinary general congress in Budapest in 2022.
At the congress, World Aquatics, then known as FINA, said it would create a working group to establish an "open" category for them in some events as part of its new policy.
"In swimming, we have a policy whereby transgender women, if they have gone through male puberty, they are ineligible to compete in the elite level," Campbell said.
"It was determined through some research that once someone has undergone high levels of testosterone, which unfortunately transwomen go through when they go through male puberty, that the advantages that you gain from that can't be reduced by simply lowering your testosterone levels.
"They have artificially given themselves some biological advantages, they're fitter, stronger, hearts are bigger, lungs are bigger and all of these things World Aquatics determined that it would be unfair for them to compete in the female category."
Campbell stressed that swimming's decision was made at the highest level of the sport by medical professionals and that any discussion over the topic needed to be conducted with sensitivity.
"I don't think that my opinion is the one that matters," she said.
"That is for swimming and again, that is not my opinion, that has been reached by professionals who are way, way more educated than I am.
"I think that before we enter this discussion, it's really important to recognise that trans community is an incredibly marginalised community and when they have these public debates, it has the potential to do some real harm to a community that has already gone through so much.
"But yes, I think that it is a topical issue but one that we need topical issue but one that we need to handle with real care."
