Prominent journalist Lucy Zelic has accused numerous Australian sporting bodies of bowing to gender ideology, and is convinced female stars are not being protected by allowing trans athletes to compete against them.
In an interview with Sky News Australia’s Chris Kenny, Zelic criticized the likes of Sports Australia and Football Australia, who he contacted directly for comment on the divisive issue.
Zelic believes there has been blatant disregard for female athletes at both the state and national level in sports such as football, before accusing the respective governing bodies of “ignoring the truth” and “biological facts that are deeply rooted in the science”.
Sports Australia chief executive Kieren Perkins was also in Zelic’s crosshairs, after the Olympic gold medalist previously branded people who attack people concerned about women’s sport as “bigoted”.
“You don’t have to be a doctor, scientist or sports administrator to recognize that these (sex) differences exist,” Zelic said.
Prominent journalist Lucy Zelic has accused numerous Australian sporting bodies of bowing to gender ideology, and is convinced female stars are not being protected by allowing trans athletes to compete against them.
In an interview with Sky News Australia’s Chris Kenny, Zelic criticized companies such as Sports Australia and Football Australia (Sports Australia chief executive Kieren Perkins is pictured, right).
‘The fact that organizations very quickly kneel before this gender ideology and do not put their female participants at the forefront of their decisions has been a perversion of justice in many ways.
‘Kieren Perkins, chief executive of Sport Australia, has been so disappointing when it comes to the stance on this, he finally said that anyone who is basically talking about this can be chalked up to being a bigot.’
Zelic wasn’t done yet and expressed concern that the increasing number of biological males in women’s sport was “creating a big problem” globally.
He also referenced Sydney-based Flying Bats FC, which sparked controversy in March after winning a football tournament with “five trans-identified men on its team”.
Flying Bats club president Jennifer Peden previously told Daily Mail Australia: “We strongly champion inclusivity and pride ourselves on providing a safe, respectful and supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players… as well as championing the important health benefits physical, social and mental that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
‘We are (also) a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.
“Trans women belong in the women’s competition (in Sydney’s northwest) because it’s the gender they identify with.”
Sydney-based football team Flying Bats (pictured) sparked controversy in March after winning a competition featuring five trans players.
Their opponents this season in Sydney’s northwest were told that teams that lost games against them would be punished for discrimination.
Lucy Zelic’s strong words come after transgender swimmer Lia Thomas (pictured) was denied a spot on the US women’s team ahead of the Paris Olympics next month.
Meanwhile, Football Australia responded to Zelic’s concerns this week, stating that they “recognize the importance of the issue surrounding our gender diversity policy”.
“We are about to embark on a thorough consultation process to ensure we address this matter thoughtfully and comprehensively,” their statement read.
‘We believe it is crucial to collaborate with the right experts and seek advice from specialists in sports science, sports medicine and high performance.
“Our goal is to reach a fair and reasonable outcome that respects diverse perspectives within our community.”
Zelic called Football Australia’s statement “hollow and weak”, before adding that the response simply “ticked a box” when it came to the governing body’s position on the matter.
Her strong words come after transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was denied a spot on the United States women’s team ahead of the Paris Olympics next month.
Thomas, 25, had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the ban on biological men competing against women in the hope of competing in the Games, but lost his appeal.
The result was celebrated by people such as American swimming star Riley Gaines, who has been an outspoken critic of Thomas.
World Aquatics also praised the ruling preventing Thomas from competing in the Paris Games, hailing the decision as “a huge step forward in our efforts to protect women’s sport.”
