Australian basketball legend Andrew Bogut has been labeled “transphobic” for the second time in a fortnight after claiming a “biological male” would be playing in the women’s NBL1 South this season.
The 38-year-old father-of-two posted a call to action of sorts on Monday morning, writing about his disgust that the semi-professional women’s league, which incorporates teams from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, will reportedly allow a ‘biological male ‘ to play.
‘It is said that NBL1 South Women will have a biological male playing this upcoming season. Do you agree with sacrificing the sanctity of women’s sport in the name of ‘inclusion’? she wrote.
‘#GirlDads where are you? The hashtag is all the rage until action is needed.”
He quickly ignited a firestorm of controversy, with some labeling him “transphobic” and a misogynist, while others shared his outrage.
Andrew Bogut, pictured with his son Luca in 2019, has sparked a storm of controversy and has been labeled “transphobic” for suggesting a “biological male” will play in the women’s NBL1 South this season.
Bogut has criticized the league for allegedly allowing a ‘biological male’ to play in the competition this year (pictured: last season’s NBL1 South women’s champions Ringwood)
‘Why do you think you and the girls’ parents should be the ones in charge of who plays women’s sport? Patriarchy a lot? commented one.
AFLW and NBL1 star author Saraid Taylor was a bit more scathing with Bogut, sarcastically thanking him for his “concern” and calling him “transphobic” for his views.
‘Hey, thanks so much for your concern for the sanctity of women’s sport. It seems genuine,” she said, in a brutal takedown of her social media post.
‘If you wouldn’t mind using your energy to highlight legitimate issues facing female athletes, rather than perpetuating transphobia, we’d really appreciate it!
The furious star athlete then criticized Bogut for revealing which club he believed the ‘biological man’ played for, which was followed by an outpouring of outrage directed at the club.
‘This is so wildly irresponsible. It saddens me to read most of the comments you get on your tweets,” Taylor said.
‘Does it make you sad? Or do you enjoy the power you have to cultivate hatred in the world?
Richmond Tigers AFLW star, and NBL1 South player, Saraid Taylor criticized Bogut’s comments, labeling him “transphobic”.
Bogut applauded back, telling Taylor that she was actually “okay with men taking over women’s sports” by being fine playing against, or with, a transgender player.
‘It saddens me that you agree with women’s sport and women’s spaces being taken over by men. I do not condone any abuse of the… player, nor do I blame the player. I blame the league/club administrator and officials for allowing it,” Bogut said.
Others criticized Bogut and her supporters for being “patronizing and condescending” for showing her interest or care in Women’s NBL1 South just out of outrage.
‘A lot of the women in the competition already know this, and most don’t care. Stop instilling fear and speak up for women,” a gender studies professor wrote to the editor of basketball news outlet The Pick and Roll, Damien Arsenis.
Others had a different opinion, insisting that it was “disgusting” that a “biological male” could play in a women’s league in the name of “inclusion”.
One of them was NBL legend Matt Shanahan, who is now a coach since hanging up his boots after a 414-game career, the second-most in league history.
The three-time first-place winner said he has a daughter who plays in the league and doesn’t seem to think he should allow it.
‘I am a father of a girl who has a 16 year old daughter in an NBL 1 south squad who was asked if she would be comfortable with this. Opening a huge can of worms if this is allowed,” she said.
Australian basketball and NBA legend Andrew Bogut said allowing a transgender player to participate in women’s sport would violate her ‘sanctity’
‘Enough is enough. Is this inclusion? How about they start their own league and let their own inclusive people play fairly, wrote one follower, and another said: ‘it’s just cheating and also stealing a chance from a biological woman.’
NRL star Josh Aloiai, who was one of seven Manly players who refused to wear a rainbow jersey and has previously been open about giving up a “homosexual lifestyle”, also shared his disgust in the Instagram post. of Bogut with a series of angry face emojis.
Basketball Victoria, which operates the league, confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that a transgender athlete had applied to play in NBL1 South this season.
‘We have a transgender athlete application for the 2023 NBL1 South season. That athlete has waited for an eligibility process to be established,” a spokesperson said.
You have completed/submitted all required medical and physical requirements and tests and any additional documentation requested.
“Basketball Victoria, in collaboration with Basketball Australia, is working through the final stages of athlete eligibility for the 2023 season,” the spokesperson said.
Former Sydney Kings star Andrew Bogut has stirred up a storm of controversy on social media of late in relation to his views on transgender and gender diverse people.
The organization implemented transgender and gender diverse guidelines before the process was finalized, based on advice from Basketball Australia and Sport Australia.
Basketball Victoria’s manager of diversity and inclusion, Sheena Atkin, said that while the sport has a long history of inclusion and safe environments for athletes, coaches and officials; the new guidelines provided the clear support and necessary frameworks for the entire Victorian community.
“Basketball has long prided itself as ‘everyone’s game’ and continues to do so, particularly at the ‘community’ level,” he said when guidelines have been published.
“(While) we recognize that there is still much to learn in this space, the new guidelines confirm that the inclusion and safety of the LGBITQA+ community at all levels of basketball is an imperative.”
It comes just two weeks after Bogut came under fire for criticizing Football Australia for having an “underrepresented gender identity” option on its registration forms.
Bogut explained that he was trying to sign up his six-year-old son to play soccer and shared an image of the options available to select gender.
‘Male’, ‘female’, ‘non-binary/gender fluid’, and ‘underrepresented gender identity’ were included in the dropdown menu.
‘Signing our 6 YEARS!, Again, 6 YEARS! for soccer. Let’s go @FootballAus’, the NBA champion tweeted.
Basketball Australia’s guidelines state that transgender players in elite competitions like the WNBL (the Melbourne Boomers team pictured during their semi-final match on Saturday) are accepted or rejected on a case-by-case basis.
It also quickly sparked a storm of controversy, with many suggesting that Bogut was a “snowflake” for being intimidated by an inclusive option on a form.
I know that when I registered my child for 6 and under, I just made the right choice and went on with my life. Because I know that these options, although they are not applicable to me, are possibly applicable to someone who wants to play football and that this way is the same for everyone”, wrote a scathing fan.
Transgender athletes playing in women’s sports has become a controversial topic in recent years, and last month it reared its ugly head again.
A Christian school in the United States lost a playoff game in a state championship after discovering that its opposition, the Long Trail Mountain Lions, had a transgender player.
“We (Vermont Christian School) withdrew from the tournament because we believe that playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” the school principal said. foxnews.
“Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
