Gender-diverse players removed from Victorian netball leagues

Australia Broadcast Center

29-05-2025

A gender-diverse netballer has labelled an opposition club "hypocrites" after they were removed from a second senior women's netball league.
Manawa Aranui's removal came after club complaints and "safety concerns".
They hit out on social media after they and another gender-diverse player were deemed ineligible to play in the Riddells District Football Netball League (RDFNL) for the rest of the season due to their "superior stamina and physique".
In a statement, the league said opposition clubs had threatened to boycott matches involving Aranui.
According to Aranui's social media post, complaints made against them to the league came from the same club that had tried to recruit them.
"The same club now publicly speaking out against me, bashing me, and attacking the trans/non-binary community in the media, is the very club whose head coach approached me to join you," they wrote.
Aranui denied claims they were "dangerous" and had "run full-speed into players and (knocked) them over", stating they had never been "warned, penalised, or reprimanded".
The opposing club has been approached for comment.
Teams in the RDFNL threatened to boycott matches in which the players competed because they felt "physically and mentally threatened on court".
An RDFNL spokesperson said the league would continue to adopt Netball Victoria's gender and anti-discrimination policies, but said it had no choice but to look at what neighbouring leagues were doing.
"We are also working very closely with some other leagues on a sub-section under the Netball Victoria Policy that gives our league the opportunity to be flexible," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Netball Victoria had this month appointed an "external investigator" to look at the participation of the players.
"The RDFNL are yet to receive further information on the external investigator and have had no communication from said person," the spokesperson said.
Netball Victoria's gender diversity policy states that players are allowed to play "in accordance with their gender identity, irrespective of their legal sex classification".
However, the governing body's guidance to clubs also confirms that players can be excluded from competitions when their "strength, stamina or physique of players is relevant".
It was the second time Aranui had been deemed ineligible to play in a competition this year.
The ABC understands Aranui was also excluded from the Ballarat Football Netball League (BFNL) in April to "protect the safety of all players".
A statement from the league said it had deemed the player ineligible, and that they had previously played "with an all-male netball team and now identifies as gender diverse".
The league said it sought legal advice that it could lawfully exclude the player from a sporting competition where "strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant".
"We have tremendous empathy for the player involved and absolutely respect and support their personal choices and respect their right to privacy," the BFNL spokesperson said.
In 2024, World Netball banned transgender players from international competition with immediate effect under a new participation and inclusion policy.
In a statement, Netball Victoria said it continued to support netballers of all backgrounds, including gender-diverse players.
"When concerns about safety in any form are raised, Netball Victoria will and does undertake a review in the interests of the welfare of participants."
Sporting administrator Peta Guy said each case needed to be judged on its specifics, especially in contact-heavy sports.
"If you've got something where people have high impact, you know AFL, rugby or something like that, then you know size and strength really does matter.
"The overriding principle is that no association wants to drive potential players away and at the same time, they've got to be completely aware of how decisions that they make impact their members, the players."
Ms Guy said when rules were set, there would be exceptions.
"I think you've got to look at the fundamental principles, the health and wellbeing of the players and fairness," she said.
Ms Guy said there had been rules implemented on gender policy in England.
"It's now having adverse consequences, particularly in an era where you have non-binary people," she said.
"If you have a rule that then excludes them … then you're not doing your sport the best favour."